South Bristol Voice July 2018

southbristolvoice July 2018 No. 38

www.southbristolvoice.co.uk

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Our home in a park

INSIDE • PLASTIC ATTACKS: HOW WE WENT VIRAL 16-17

• OTTERS! OTTERS! 24-25 10-11

High rises: The people speak 13

Nowhere to go: Perretts Park was home to Owen Smith and Przemyslaw Maciejewski, pictured with friend Vince Randall, who helped them out Story: Page 3

• REMEMBERING KAMIL: NO MORE MURDERS 15

• THE BLITZ

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IN

July 2018

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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, Martin Powell & The Wicked Witch. Deliveries: Greg Champion

Intro

D-DAY FOR THE ARENA – AND FOR HIGH RISES? NOT FOR the first time, the Voice goes to press before some vital events we’d like to tell you about.

We reveal on pages 10 and 11 some of the arguments which appear to spell the death knell for an arena at Temple Meads. But we can’t bring you news of the two council scrutiny meetings on June 18 and 19, where some lively defence of the Temple Meads option will no doubt be aired.

The mayor, Marvin Rees, and his cabinet will make a decision on July 3. We’ve said for several months now that the writing appeared to be on the wall

You can find South Bristol Voice on Facebook and Twitter facebook.com/ southbristolvoice Twitter: @sbristolvoice Next month’s deadline for editorial and advertising is July 18th for a South Bristol arena. Yet councillors voted decisively in favour of it.

And there are multiple uncertainties associated with the Filton option. Plans by private owner YTL are much less advanced and can’t even be compared properly with the detailed scheme for Temple Meads. So is the situation more fluid than it seems?

Even less certain is the council’s current thinking on tall buildings. Mr Rees talks about high-rises “showing ambition”, and seems a fan.

But the public’s view, as revealed in consultation explained on page 13, is firmly against skyscrapers.

Curiously, the council’s official response seemed pretty receptive to this tide of opinion.

Will the mayor follow suit?

n NEWS

n BRIEFLY n VOLUNTEERS are needed to make the Whitchurch Village Fete go with a swing over the August bank holiday weekend.

Attractions include a dog show, stalls, raffle and a brass band.

Also there will be Ferretworld, Shaolin Wushu martial arts, Enchante baton twirlers, a flower show and a fruit and veg show. facebook.com/ whitchurchvillagefete

n TODDLERS can get to grips with nature at My Wild Child, a group that meets in term-time at Northern Slopes, Knowle.

Children aged 2-4 learn about the natural world through songs, stories and hands-on activities.

Meet at the Bommie entrance, next to 105 Wedmore Vale, at 1pm every Wednesday until July 18. avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/ mywildchild

n THERE’S a Summer Garden Fete at St Martin’s church in Wells Road, Knowle, on Saturday July 7, with cakes, games, plants, bric-a-brac and toys, from 2pm.

n A FAMILY open day and barbecue is being held by South Bristol double glazing firm Crystal Clear. The firm in Emery Road, just off Bath Road, Brislington, is inviting people to see its new ranges of windows, doors, conservatories and roof lights. There will be an entertainer and games for the children, and a prize draw to win a composite door. It’s from 10am-4pm on Saturday July 7. crystalclearbristol.co.uk

n THE TOTTERDOWN Centre and Zone A on Wells Road will be a hive of activity on Sunday June 24. Memories of Totterdown before the mass demolitions of the 1960s will be presented

by The Road Project, with an exhibition and performances from 12 noon. Zone A hosts a community lunch as part of the Great Get Together from 2-8pm, with food, dancing and a pop-up lemonade bar. More events at tresa.org.uk

July 2018

n WINNER of a steak night for two at the Totterdown Canteen, in our competition in the June edition of the Voice, is Kristen Jacobs of Totterdown.

How do I get in touch with ...

My MP? Karin Smyth MP By email: karin.smyth.mp@ parliament.uk By post: Karin Smyth MP, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA By phone: 0117 953 3575 In person: Surgeries will be held on Friday July 6 and 20. Call 0117 953 3575 for an appointment.

My councillor?

Post: You can write to all councillors at Brunel House, St George’s Road, Bristol BS1 5UY Christopher Davies Lib Dem, Knowle

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 Phone: 07392 108805 Email: Cllr.Lucy.Whittle@bristol.gov.uk Jon Wellington Labour, Windmill Hill Phone: 07392 108804 Email: Cllr.Jon.Wellington@bristol.gov.uk

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

Police Inquiries 101 Emergency 999 Fire

Emergency 999 Inquiries 0117 926 2061 NEIGHBOURHOOD MEETINGS Windmill Hill Neighbourhood Network 7pm, July 18, Victoria Park Baptist Church, Sylvia Avenue

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. We strive to conform to the NUJ Code of Conduct for journalists: • nuj.org.uk/about/nuj-code 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 (unless otherwise stated) 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

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We’ve made a home in the park – we had nowhere else THIS is where some people feel forced to live nowadays: in a park.

Being forced out of their rented home in Knowle left Owen Smith and Przemyslaw Maciejewski without anywhere to sleep except this small tent – barely big enough for two people – in Perretts Park.

Both are recovering addicts who had been keeping themselves off alcohol and drugs until the landlord of the ‘dry’ house where they lived in Selworthy Road, Knowle, decided he wanted to sell up, and gave them four weeks notice.

Though clearly at risk if forced onto the streets, they were not vulnerable enough for Bristol city council, which could not find them any accommodation.

The move has also effectively forced Przemyslaw out of the UK. A Pole who has been living and working in Bristol for 11 years, he has a UK residency card – but he was refused all benefits.

The pair felt their best option was to pitch their tent in Perretts Park, well away from any of the temptations of the city centre.

“We didn’t want want to live in town with the homeless people who take drugs,” said Owen.

As it was, Przemyslaw turned to the bottle during his first few

WHO’S HELPING? Help Bristol’s Homeless is a community interest company, set up by Bedminster restaurateur Jasper Thompson, is converting 11 shipping containers into cosy, temporary homes.

It’s raised £3,500 towards a £20,000 target which will enable it move to a council-owned site in Spring Street, off York Road.

Summer fair REDCATCH Community Garden, which has taken over the former bowling green in Redcatch Park, holds its Summer Fair on Sunday July 15, from 12 noon to 5pm.

Details will be posted on the garden’s Facebook page soon, but expect lots of stalls, food,

Parklife: Owen and Przemyslaw days of homelessness, but when the Voice met him, he had stayed ‘dry’ for several days.

His family gave him money for a plane ticket to Poland on June 16. He wants to return to the UK, where he has had well-paid jobs as a panel fabricator.

Both were full of gratitude to their friend, Vince Randall. He was also kicked out of the house in Knowle but has a mental health condition which meant the council found him a place to stay.

He has been cooking food for his friends, and allowing them in for an occasional shower.

“If it wasn’t for him we’d still be on the whisky,” said Owen. He said it was hard to stay ‘clean’ while homeless, despite kicking

his habits for two years and eight months, after leaving prison.

He praised the generosity of Bristolians, who have offered them food, clothing, money and all kinds of help.

“A man went by with his dog, then came back half an hour later with a bag full of all kinds of things from the Co-Op,” said Owen.

Przemyslaw said the Jobcentre kept making different demands for documents. He gave them proof he’d been renting a home and taxing a car, but this wasn’t enough. Nor was a series of wage slips. Officials demanded full records of his wages. But he was paid weekly, and he couldn’t afford to pay for copies of every payslip.

The pair were homeless for two weeks. Owen was hoping the council would find him a home as the Voice went to press.

Goal! The pitch is back again Better: The pitch replaces one which was wearing out THE FIVE-a-side football pitch at Windmill Hill City Farm, which was under threat last year when it seemed the land would be needed for a children’s nursery, has been refurbished.

The ribbon was expected to be cut on the new 3G pitch on June 22 by Lloyd James, Exeter City footballer and son of Vicky James, a member of the farm’s nursery team who died last year.

There was even a football pitch cake made by volunteer Lynne Templar.

The new 3G pitch is the latest synthetic grass with a shockabsorbing surface. Local teams can hire it for £30 an hour. windmillhillcityfarm.org.uk

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It’s also converting a doubledecker bus into a 12-berth emergency shelter.

Facebook: Help Bristol’s Homeless • Windmill Hill resident Sarah Jade is the driving force behind Humanitea. She wants to set up a café in the city centre. where profits go to feeding the homeless.

Facebook: Humanitea Café activities and heaps of plants and produce to buy.

On July 25 the garden hosts Summer Holiday Happymess – a morning of art and messy play for one to eight year-olds, with a seaside theme, from 10am12 noon. Adults must supervise their children; the cost is £5.

Facebook: Redcatch Community Garden

W IT’S FUN LEARNING ABOUT DIFFERENT CULTURES www.clevehouseschool.co.uk

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July 2018

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n NEWS Apology after graves are left overgrown THE CITY council has apologised after graves at South Bristol crematorium and cemetery were left untended and overgrown.

Distressed relatives took to social media to protest after they found graves festooned with weeds and brambles in early June.

A Bristol city council spokesperson said: “We apologise – we understand this could be distressing to people coming to visit their loved ones.”

Freezing temperatures in February stopped ground staff applying herbicide to suppress weeds, the spokesperson said.

Then a warm, wet spring brought sudden growth, just as staff were struggling to cope with demand for graves.

“The area has now been tidied and we will do everything we can to make sure this does not happen again,” the council said.

Young cook of the year is crowned in Knowle BRISTOL’S Young Cook of the Year has been crowned after a cook-off at Knowle’s Square Food Foundation.

The Young Cook award went to Luca Markey Cruz, a student from Holy Cross Catholic primary school, who beat six others to the top spot.

The competition was part of the Teaching a City to Cook programme, aiming to get more children and families cooking with fresh, seasonal ingredients and eating healthily.

Recipe ideas and practical advice were given by restaurateur Barny Haughton, who set up the

Square Food Foundation at The Park centre in Daventry Road to spread ideas about healthy eating and train young chefs.

Also part of the team was Windmill Hill resident Josh Eggleton, owner of Somerset’s Michelin-starred Pony and Trap. bristol.gov.uk/youngcooks

Bike man attacks elderly women for their jewellery POLICE are investigating reports that a man in his 20s may have mugged three women, two of them pensioners, for their jewellery – one in Lower Knowle.

The other attacks took place within a short space of time in Ashton and in Kingsdown, north Bristol, on Monday June 11.

The first pensioner to be

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attacked was a woman in her 70s who was confronted by a man, described as black, wearing dark clothing and in his mid 20s, in Baynton Road, a cul-de-sac off Ashton Road, opposite Greville Smyth Park. He tried to tear several gold chains from her neck but succeeded only in grabbing a piece of one necklace before riding off on a bicycle.

The next victim was an elderly woman in her 80s who was attacked at about 2.30pm as she walked through an alley which connects Beckington Road and Wingfield Road in Lower Knowle.

The man grabbed a gold necklace from the pensioner and rode off.

The elderly woman is reported to have been bruised and shaken. Police said she is receiving support. A third attack

Police studying CCTV following three incidents happened in Somerset Street, Kingsdown, at about 3.30pm, when a man of the same description pulled a gold necklace from the neck of a woman in her 30s.

Police have conducted house-to-house inquiries and are reviewing CCTV. Officers are keeping an open mind about whether the incidents are related.

Anyone who witnessed any of the attacks, or has any information, can call police on 101 and quote the reference 5218128054. You can also call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 without giving your name.

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THE MALAGO Greenway Berry Maze – which may well be the only maze made of soft fruit plants in the world – is open for all to see how well it’s grown since planting last year.

The maze was created on a former wasteland of brambles and rubbish beside the River Malago between Marksbury Road and Parson Street.

Volunteers, led by Ralucca McKett, are gathering on June 30 from 10am-1pm to pick up litter and weed the maze.

Refreshments and tools provided – to find out more email our. berry.maze@gmail.com.

Facebook: TheBerryMaze2017

CYCLING is for everybody – especially those with mobility problems. The Bristol Family Cycling Centre in Bamfield, Hengrove is hosting a Festival of Inclusive Cycling on August 1.

Open from 1.30-5pm, it’s a special event for people with disabilities, learning difficulties or mobility issues and their family, friends and carers.

Healthcare professionals are also welcome. There’s no entry fee.

There will be a wide range of adapted cycles to try out on the centre’s traffic-free track. Cycling instructors will be on hand. betterbybike.info/ familycyclingcentre

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n NEWS

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Headline act at street art’s biggest gathering EXCLUSIVE HE REGARDS Upfest as being the spirit of Bristol – and now Knowle-based Jody has been given the privilege of being the headline festival artist in the event’s 10th anniversary year.

It’s hardly a surprise to those who have followed him: Jody Thomas is one of those who inspired Banksy. He is one of the most distinctive artists to be found at Upfest, the biggest street art festival in Europe. Though he paints with a spray can, he’s also a fine artist, exhibiting and creating live painting all over the world (he’s soon off to Singapore).

Jody’s photo-realist style, most often portraits of strikinglooking women with a distinctive, almost metallic sheen, has created some of the most memorable but temporary images to adorn the walls around North Street, Southville, where Upfest has always been centred.

In fact, his fans will have longer to appreciate last year’s work Reverie (right); the owners of the house in The Nursery, Bedminster, like it so much they don’t want it painted over.

That’s caused a small headache for festival founder and organiser Steve Hayles, who

UPFEST FACTS • Upfest is from July 28-30 at venues and walls all over BS3, from Ashton Gate stadium to East Street and beyond.

• Upfest was founded in 2008 by Steve Hayles with about a dozen artists, including Jody, at the back of the Tobacco Factory.

• It’s now Europe’s biggest

WE’RE BACKING BEDMINSTER THE VOICE is getting behind Bedminster – which, from Bedminster Parade to North Street, is Bristol’s second biggest shopping centre – to draw attention to all the good things going on there.

A few high street names may be pulling out – Argos and Bon Marché the latest – and Asda may have withdrawn its support for

counts on reusing BS3’s best wall spaces year after year.

But it’s clear to Jody that the picture has struck a chord: more or less every day, he says, someone tags him on Instagram to say something about Reverie.

“Someone did it today,” he told the Voice. “She said, where are you going to paint this year?”

The answer is, just behind the TinCan coffee shop on North Street, a site only just secured after another North Street landlord refused Upfest permission to paint. Oh, and Jody had to rethink his subject after a French fashion photographer rebuffed a request to use a picture as inspiration.

“I don’t like to just steal someone’s work, I would rather collaborate,” he says.

No matter; he’s got another idea, inspired by a model he’s worked with. In fact there will be a series of paintings, reaching possibly to Temple Meads and Anchor Road. You’ll have to wait to see, but it involves the festival theme of a hand; and a lot of gold.

“Gold is an absolute nightmare to paint,” he says. “I don’t actually use a gold colour, I create an effect using mustard, yellow, black and brown– it’s what the street art festival, with 30,000 visitors and 400 artists.

• Founder Steve Hayles and partner Emma run it with the help of 50 volunteers.

• Upfest supports Nacoa – a charity helping the families of alcoholics.

• The biggest names back Upfest – from Mr Men to Aardman to, this year, the Simpsons. local events like Upfest. But it’s still a thriving community and shopping centre that encapsulates all that’s best about Bristol, with new independent businesses moving in almost every week.

We don’t want South Bristolians to stop supporting local businesses in Knowle, Totterdown or elsewhere. So before you drive to a shopping centre chain store, think: what if I could get what I need from an independent trader, close to home?

Meet Jody, the artist with a spray can, not a brush Jody, left, with Reverie, his 2017 work for Upfest – so loved that it’s not being removed Dutch Old Masters used to do.”

The colour will contribute to his trademark sheen – “a sheen of luxury, I guess!” he says.

“Someone recently called me the Christian Dior of street art. I certainly wouldn’t compare myself to him, but I thought, that’s a wonderful compliment.

My work has always had a kind of fashion edge to it.”

He’s devoted to Upfest and very honoured to be the Festival Artist in its 10th year. “It started very humbly, in the back garden of the Tobacco Factory with about 12 artists,” he says.

“It’s very much grown organically and it’s a microcosm of Bristol culture, run by local people, funded by local people.”

Jody credits Upfest with lifting the reputation of street art in the UK almost single-handedly: “It’s an enormously big deal.

“I was painting the side of the Hen and Chicken one year. I got there early and the street was empty. I looked down at midday and it was like Sao Paolo carnival, with hundreds of people dancing.

“It brings in so much custom to local businesses – for some, it’s their Christmas.

“It’s like Wimbledon and Glastonbury – it always rains, it’s a bit of a problem to manage!”

• To read more about Jody and his roots in Bristol’s graffiti scene, go to the Voice website. jodyart.co.uk upfest.co.uk

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July 2018

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n NEWS

Knowle school wins zoo contest to design a garden

Let it grow: The Cleve House pupils plant out at the zoo

CHILDREN from a Knowle primary school helped create a special garden at Bristol Zoo. Youngsters from Cleve House School in Knowle won a Bristol in Bloom competition to design an edible garden for the zoo.

Pupils aged between nine and

Gothic Mansion owner appeals THE OWNER of Knowle’s Gothic Mansion, a large Victorian house in Redcatch Road, is appealing against the council’s failure to decide her planning application to build a new four-bedroom ‘coach house’ in her car park.

Misha Simmonite says she needs a new home as she is disabled and lives on the fourth storey of the Gothic Mansion.

The mansion is let for holidays and some neighbours have objected to the new house, fearing it too will be rented out.

Ms Simmonite insists it will be for her family.

The planning application was made in August 2016. The car park area is leased to Ms Simmonite. She says this is not a reason for the council to delay.

Harbour fun SUMMER activities for all abilities, including older and disabled people, are on offer at the All-Aboard! Watersports Centre. Sailing, rowing and other waterborne pursuits are organised by the charity, based at the Underfall Yard on the harbour. allaboardwatersports.co.uk

11 spent a couple of hours carefully digging in and watering around 150 different plants. They included varieties of lettuce as well as herbs, potatoes, onions, radishes and fruit bushes.

Dozens of schools across Bristol entered the competition

but a design by Ruby Fry, 9, from Cleve House came out on top.

Eddie Mole, head of horticulture at Bristol Zoo Gardens said: “Ruby has done a really good design and shown a lot of horticultural skill in what she has picked.”

Celebrating decades of Bristol’s lushest sounds SEVEN decades of Bristol music featuring city-based artists from Russ Conway to Massive Attack has been jammed into a new book chronicling Bristol’s fiercely independent musical scene.

Bristol Music: Seven Decades of Sound is a joint venture by Totterdown publisher Tangent, Bristol Books and the M Shed.

It’s penned by Totterdown resident and former Ashton Court festival committee member Richard Jones. Richard is owner of Tangent Books, which is based at Paintworks in Bath Road.

The pocket-sized guide takes readers on a citywide tour of Bristol music – from the skiffle and rock ’n’ roll pioneers to pop crooners and heavy rockers, to punk, reggae and hip-hop.

It has been launched to mark an exhibition of the same name at M Shed until September 30.

Richard Jones said: “While a book of this size can’t hope to cover every last combo that ever trod the boards around the city, we have tried to capture the essence of the Bristol Sound

– and interpret how different bands and groups of fans have contributed to it.”

Anarchic, cross-fertilized and highly incestuous, Bristol’s music scene has thrown up any number of big name bands, often recruiting drummers, guitarists and singers from other local groups.

Richard said: “It was a real challenge unpicking who played with who and for how long – or when and where a particular genre such as hip-hop first emerged from the city suburbs.

“Very often, bands emerged from small-time gigs to become the must-see band. Some of them, such as Acker Bilk, Massive Attack, Portishead, the Wurzels, Chaos UK and Roni Size, went on to make their mark on the national and even international music scene.”

The book starts in 1955, and

Any number of stars: Neneh Cherry, left, is among Bristol’s musical legends drops in on legendary venues such as the Dug Out, the Bamboo Club, the Granary and the Old Duke as well as the Colston Hall and Hippodrome.

Bristol Music: Seven Decades of Sound, costs £8.99 and is on sale at M Shed, Foyles, Bristol Tourist Information Centre, the People’s Republic Of Stokes Croft and Co-Lab, Bristol.

The logo for the book and the exhibition was designed by Bristol street artist Felix Braun who is also the author of another Tangent book, Children Of The Can, about Bristol’s graffiti scene – which features Knowle artist Jody (see page 5). tangentbooks.co.uk

ASK A VET: What should I think about before I take my dog to the beach?

A

DAY at the beach is a great opportunity to have some fun with your dog and thankfully there are plenty of dog-friendly beaches in the South West for us all to enjoy. Plan your perfect day out with these top tips.

Beach Restrictions Sometimes, during the summer, popular locations do not allow dogs; however there are usually areas cordoned off for dogs or nearby dog-friendly beaches. Check online or visit thebeachguide.co. uk/dog-friendly for some ideas.

Swimming Dogs are usually a lot more willing to brave the chilly British waters than us, but make sure the sea is safe for your dog to swim. Tides and currents can be very strong and, although dogs instinctively know to paddle, you may discover that they are not an expert swimmer! Remember to rinse sea water from your dog, as salt may irritate their skin when dry.

Keep them safe Be sure to provide them with plenty of shade and fresh water

throughout the day. It may also be worth bringing toys to distract them from picking up beach debris or seaweed that could be toxic.

Pick it up Don’t ruin it for other owners and make sure you pick up after your dog. If it is a dog-friendly beach, there will probably be plenty of bins around. If you don’t abide by the rules, then it may influence a future decision to no longer allow dogs on that beach.

If you would like any more information about looking after

Amie Britton RVN Highcroft Veterinary Group your pets in the summer call us at Highcroft Veterinary Hospital on 01275 832410.

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n NEWS

Windmill Hill residents fear impact of road closures RESIDENTS of Windmill Hill are waiting anxiously to see the effect of work on cycle lanes which could close several roads.

The junction where Windmill Hill meets Fraser Street and Cotswold Road North may close for three weeks in June or July, highways officers warned. Access will be from the other side of the hill, on Paultow Road or Hill

Avenue. Neighbours are worried about access for emergency vehicles on the narrow streets.

The Malago Greenway cycle way will be widened where it meets Cotswold Road, and it will continue onto Fraser Street.

Five parking spaces will be removed in Fraser Street. But a plan to make the road one-way has been dropped. Also abandoned is

Police on alert as motorbikes return to Victoria Park THE PEACE and quiet of Victoria Park has been shattered by youths riding motorbikes – and throwing abuse at park-goers in the process.

One biker has been seen riding aggressively at people in the park, shouting abuse and making rude gestures at anyone who attempts to confront him.

One Voice reader took a video – but did not want to get any closer because he had his two-year-old son with him.

The reader said the helmetless youth threatened him and his toddler, after endangering them both, as well as a cyclist and other people.

Bikes were reported in the park almost every day over about 10 days in late May and early June, but police are not sure if the incidents are being committed by just one individual.

They encouraged the public to report incidents immediately – trained officers on scrambler bikes may be available to respond.

The Voice reader who alerted us was unimpressed with police communications, however. He said he tried to report the incident on June 4 at least seven times on the police website – and each time it crashed, losing the details.

Shaun Hennessy, chair of Victoria Park Action Group, sad he hadn’t heard of any incidents more recently.

Several residents voiced fears that motorbikes would return to the park if gates were made wider as part of works to install the

a plan to narrow Windmill Hill, and install a speed table.

The work could take nine weeks but the closures should last no more than three weeks.

Pavements – and access to Bedminster station – will remain open, the council said.

Right: The planned changes, looking towards Fraser Street

Two blazes in one night A WOMAN in her 50s was treated for smoke inhalation after firefighters in breathing gear tackled a blaze in the basement of her Totterdown home.

The St Luke’s Crescent resident was given treatment at the scene, the fire service said.

Three fire appliances were called to the fire at 7.30pm on June 3, but it was put out with a single hose. Three hours later, fire crews were called out again – this

time to a house in Marksbury Road where they were told two people could be trapped inside.

Firefighters from Bedminster, Temple Back and Hicks Gate fire stations rushed to the scene but found the occupants had escaped.

The pair were treated by ambulance staff as a precaution, while fire crew wearing breathing gear put out the fire.

Both fires are believed to have started accidentally.

TM

lightunder

control

TM

Helmetless: The rogue rider cycle path, currently under way and set to last until August.

Mr Hennessy said VPAG didn’t want to make entrances smaller unless absolutely necessary, as it would make access more difficult for pushchairs and wheelchairs.

One entrance to the park, off Windmill Close, may appear to offer easier access, but is little different to the previous barrier that was there, he said.

Meanwhile, many park goers are pleased to see the reopening of Mrs Brown’s café in the park.

The former café owners have agreed to open on selected weekends following the failure of the council to put the business out to tender to a new operator.

• A business case for revamping the semi-derelict lodge in Victoria Park has been presented to the council by VPAG. The council is expected to give its response in several weeks.

• Police Report: page 21

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

July 2018

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n NEWS

METROBUS

Who will be the champion for Metrobus METROBUS needs a champion to sing its praises and guide it forward, a meeting probing the much-delayed rapid transit bus network has been told.

A special June 6 scrutiny meeting of the West of England Combined Authority, or Weca, heard that work on the £230 million network was run by a joint committee of three local councils – Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.

News of further delays dribbled out this spring – including the admission that buses do not fit the guide rails of the 3km guided busway from Ashton Vale to Cumberland Basin. This problem will take £200,000 and several more weeks to fix – way beyond the promised opening date of Easter.

There were several calls at the June 6 meeting for a single political leader to grasp the nettle and take leadership of Metrobus, helping smooth the opening of

OFF THE RAILS? OR ALMOST ON TIME?

W

HY the long delays to Metrobus starting?

Officials would argue their record is actually pretty good, considering the challenges of such a huge project built around a motorway (the M32) and across rivers, requiring several bridges and a complex flyover at Winterstoke Road.

The overspend, too, may not be

the first three routes and pave the way for several more routes expected in the future.

But so far no leader has emerged – and Tim Bowles, the man many people think is the obvious candidate, as the metro mayor responsible for transport networks across the West, was not at the meeting.

Metrobus has only just opened its first route, the M3

so bad – £30m over at £230m is a far better record than Edinburgh’s tram project, whose cost is put at £1bn, double its £545m budget.

Nor are the delays perhaps too bad compared to other projects: the Sheffield tram-train link to Rotherham is three years late.

Bristol’s Metrobus has been attacked as too costly and in the wrong place. Both mayor Marvin Rees and his predecessor George Ferguson criticised the routes, but were unable to change them, as

the project had already won government funding.

But it is the lack of explanation for delays which has earned criticism this year.

The Ashton Vale to Temple Meads route, along the 3km guided busway, was to be the first route, set to open last autumn, then at New Year, and then in the spring of 2018.

Rumours started that the buses were too tall for the rebuilt Ashton Avenue bridge over the New Cut,

from Emersons Green to the city centre, after promising to begin services last autumn.

It has suffered not only from delays but from a lack of communication, with even councillors and Bristol South MP Karin Smyth complaining they did not know what was happening.

The two routes serving South Bristol will not start for months – the M1 from Hengrove to

Cribbs Causeway in the autumn, and the M2 from Ashton Vale to Temple Meads in January.

And there is no sign of a route on the new South Bristol Link road from Hengrove to Long Ashton. This was touted as one of the major benefits ever since Metrobus was proposed almost 10 years ago. But the route is not seen as profitable by bus firms.

However, the M3 is already

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METROBUS

and get it working properly?

or that the corners were too tight on the elevated busway over Winterstoke Road.

These were denied, and, in

February, the Voice was told that installing the iPoint bus stop terminals was the major job still to be done. But the Ashton Vale route was still on track for “the spring”.

Within weeks, new facts emerged. The M2 Ashton Vale route would not be the first to open, though it was not revealed why.

The M3 Emersons Green route would open first – on May 29.

The M1 Hengrove-Cribbs Causeway route, first scheduled for the summer, would take until the

New Year. In a surprise move, the contract was handed to Bristol Community Transport – who said they had to order ultra-clean biofuel buses first, and install gas fuelling equipment at their depot in Parson Street, Bedminster. It’s now expected to open in January.

The Ashton Vale route needs £200,000 of work to adapt the bus guide rails, it emerged on June 6.

It’s now scheduled to open in the autumn. Some buses need work to align their wheels to the rails.

proving popular and more than 25,000 people took advantage of a two-week free trial.

Meanwhile, a host of improvements, including changes to the city centre, plus new bus lanes and bridges, have sliced minutes off journey times for all road users, claimed Peter Mann, director of transport at Bristol city council.

The South Bristol Link is taking traffic off Hartcliffe Way and other less suitable roads, said Mr Mann.

Steve Clarke, Green councillor for Southville, who chairs the Weca scrutiny committee, said he called the June 6 meeting to find out more about the delays.

“At a Weca meeting at the end of January I asked when Metrobus was going to open from Ashton

Vale to Temple Meads, and I was told ‘in the spring’,” he said.

“Clearly that was mad – it was never going to start then, however you defined ‘the spring’.

And that made me think we need to dig into this, because no one else is doing it. Whose fault that is I don’t know.”

But asked by the Voice who he thought should be the champion for Metrobus, he said: “Tim Bowles is the obvious person to do it – I think he should pick up the nettle.”

Labour’s Bristol South MP Karin Smyth went further. She said in April that Mr Bowles should be fighting to restore the South Bristol Link route, not shrugging off responsibility.

“Instead of looking for creative ways to drive the project

forward, he is scrambling around for reasons not to. It beggars belief,” she said.

Mr Bowles has said the current Metrobus routes are being delivered by the three local councils, not Weca– he is only involved in planning new ones.

In a statement to the Voice, Mr Bowles said: “It’s brilliant to see MetroBus on the roads of the region and I’m delighted with the positive comments I’ve heard from passengers. At the most recent meeting of the joint committee, we all spoke about the benefits of MetroBus, which offers direct routes designed to get people around the region quicker. We must all champion the benefits of MetroBus.” The Voice will interview Mr Bowles for a future issue.

Metrobus: New facts emerge

THE MISSING LINK

CONFUSED? YOU WILL BE

HE SOUTH Bristol Link road was always a major part of the Metrobus network, listed as one of the three routes.

The other two routes were from Ashton Vale to Temple Meads – now known as M2 – and the ‘North Fringe’ route, from Hengrove through the city centre to Cribbs Causeway and Emersons Green. This route has now been split into two, the M1 (to Cribbs) and the M3 (to Emersons Green).

As recently as January 2015, transport minister Baroness Kramer unveiled a £27m grant for the South Bristol Link, which she referred to as “a combined new road and rapid transit link”.

It only emerged this year that the South Bristol Link is no longer on the Metrobus network. The change was not announced, but was obvious because the Link road was left off the Metrobus map.

Bristol South MP Karin Smyth

VEN some councillors don’t understand how decisions are taken on Metrobus.

Plans for the current network were laid in 2009-2010, led by a joint transport committee of three councils – Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.

But some decisions were taken by each council locally.

In May 2016, Conservative Tim Bowles was elected as metro mayor – head of the new West of England Combined Authority (Weca). Weca is planning several new Metrobus routes, including one along Bath Road. Mr Bowles does not to want to get involved in current Metrobus routes.

Yet since Weca began, the joint transport committee of the three local councils hasn’t met. Some say this led to an information vacuum.

Into this void has stepped Mr Bowles’ own scrutiny committee, chaired by Cllr Stephen Clarke.

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July 2018

E South Bristol Link: No Metrobus was furious, seeing the Link as vital to enable people from the most deprived parts of South Bristol to reach jobs, education and leisure opportunities.

She said Bristol city council was looking at ways to try to subsidise the route, but metro mayor Tim Bowles had done nothing.

The route may become viable to bus firms when hundreds of new houses are built in Hengrove – but that will take years.

Cllr Tim Kent, Lib Dem member for Whitchurch, has said 2011 plans show it was always intended that the Link route would need subsidy.

Lunar landing will light up Ashton school

Stunning: Museum of the Moon THE MOON will descend on Ashton Park school in a showing of a spectacular artwork by a world-famous South Bristol artist.

The Museum of the Moon is a seven-metre illuminated globe made from detailed NASA images of the moon’s surface. It has been shown around the world and was created by Luke Jerram, whose studio is at Paintworks in Totterdown (he was interviewed in the Voice last year).

Luke is also known for the giant waterslide he installed down Park Street and his installation, Play Me I’m Yours, of 20 street pianos placed across the city for everyone to play.

The moon will be on show at Ashton Park school from July 5-8. Tickets to view it will be sold to raise money to improve sound and lighting facilities for performing arts in the school.

Luke, whose child attends Ashton Park school, said, “The endless funding cuts imposed [by] central government are impacting all our children. It’s great to be able to do what I can to support my local secondary school. I hope the artwork will inspire the children to have an interest in both arts and science.” moon.ashtonpark.net

Summer delight THERE’S a Summer Fayre at Merchants’ Academy on Saturday July 14 from 11am-3.30pm. Fun for all the family is promised with stalls and attractions, entertainment, arts and crafts, and refreshments. The school is at Gatehouse Avenue, BS13 9AJ.

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

July 2018

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n NEWS Music festival moves down the road COUNCIL officials are talking to the licensees of pubs which took part in Totterdown’s music festival on June 9 and 10 to see if any conditions were breached.

The Shakespeare pub in Henry Street advertised a street party with live bands – the usual pattern when the festival has been hosted previously by the Oxford pub, in Oxford Street.

Those attending the live events at the two pubs and at the New Found Out in Henry Street praised the weekend.

Before the event, the council told the Voice that the only licence issued was for the closure of Henry Street, and that would not cover an outdoor stage or an outside bar.

It’s not clear that any licensing conditions were broken, but the council said it would talk to each pub licensee. Police said they had no reports of any issues.

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ARENA REPORTS ARRIVE

Fury in South Bristol as arena KPMG says Temple Meads arena costs have shot up, and more jobs and benefits will come from using site for homes, a hotel and conference centre THE LONG-awaited consultants reports into a Bristol arena are designed to kill off the idea of siting an arena at Temple Meads, claims a prominent councillor.

A clutch of reports by consultants KPMG, released on June 11, concluded that a 12,000-seat arena next to Temple Meads station would be one of the most expensive venues of its type per square metre in the country.

Costs of a Temple Meads arena have rocketed, from £123.5 million to £188.6m, an increase of almost 53 per cent.

Since it was last assessed in 2016, the building cost has jumped to £156.3m, with extra bills of £16.2m for car parking and £16.1m for land and interest.

An alternative arena site at Filton, built by Malaysian-owned firm YTL, would have a “bigger economic and employment impact”, said KPMG. It would also not cost the council anything, assuming a £53m grant from the Local Enterprise Partnership could be transferred

July 2018

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n NEWS

11

ARENA REPORTS ARRIVE

at Temple Meads recedes from view

What they say about KPMG’s arena reports

to Filton to help pay for transport improvements.

However, KPMG cautioned that projections provided by YTL “are not at a sufficiently advanced stage … for detailed due diligence”. Others fear that YTL will want hundreds of millions spent on transport around Filton, and question what guarantee there is that the firm will actually build an arena.

Cllr Gary Hopkins, deputy leader of the Lib Dems in Bristol and a member for Knowle, told the Voice that he believed the reports were intended to quash hopes of a Temple Meads arena.

Cllr Hopkins said: “This does not actually move the arena to the Brabazon hangars – what it

‘Where we needed vision, bold thinking and a willingness to invest boldly, we were instead presented with management speak of the worst order. Moreover, there was an unsettling reliance on intelligence from a private developer, alongside an overarching feeling that the reports simply said what they’d been asked to. The reports pose more questions than they answer ... to avoid assessing crucial issues.’

Karin Smyth MP

‘This does not actually move the arena to the Brabazon hangars – what it does, and what it’s designed to do, is to kill the arena at Temple Meads. What’s not in there is any meaningful assurance that an arena will be built at all. I think a lot of it is down to over-ambitious design and a failure to get to grips with that. The costs are massively higher than comparable schemes elsewhere – why is that?’

does, and what it’s designed to do, is to kill the arena at Temple Meads.

“What’s not in there is any meaningful assurance that an arena will be built at all.”

Earlier this year campaigners for keeping the arena in the city gathered thousands of signatures, forced a council debate and saw councillors vote in favour of the idea (though it was only an advisory vote).

Among Labour members voting for the Arena Island option were Windmill Hill members Lucy Whittle and Jon Wellington. Both say they have yet to be persuaded the arena should be moved. Fans of the city centre site say it is not only close

to rail, bus and Metrobus links, it will also bring a tide of business from arena-goers to restaurants and hotels.

In contrast, the Filton site is on the very edge of Bristol, and many businesses to benefit will be in South Gloucestershire.

KPMG said “The strategic benefits of the Temple Island arena would transfer to Filton.

There would be some leakage of economic benefit outside of Bristol, but retained in the West of England area.”

Mayor Marvin Rees will not take a decision until a cabinet meeting on July 3, after what can be expected to be two lively scrutiny meetings on June 18 and 20, after the Voice went to press.

TEMPLE MEADS 12,000-seat venue on Arena Island, funded by council and grants KMPG says ...

• Arena would cost £188m, up 53% on 2016 estimate; • It would be “one of the most expensive arenas in the UK in terms of cost per square metre”; • It could create an extra £387.1m in economic benefits and up to 660 jobs; • Alternative uses for Arena Island could be homes, a conference centre and hotel; • The alternative uses could create an extra £875.3m in economic benefits and up to 2,026 jobs.

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

‘In an ideal world, there is no doubt a city centre location would be best, but we are not in an ideal world.’

Simon Peacock, property consultant ‘Marvin and the other politicians making decisions talk a lot about helping disadvantaged areas; well South Bristol needs some help right now. Build the Arena at Temple Meads and get Metrobus fully opened!

Cllr Stephen Clarke

Cllr Gary Hopkins

(Green, Southville)

(Lib Dem, Knowle)

However, he has for months appeared to be veering towards the Filton option. At a public meeting in Windmill Hill in February, he spoke of the chance for a five-star hotel and conference centre at Temple Meads.

On investment-hunting trips to China and to Cannes, he appears not to have touted the offer of a Temple Meads arena.

Bristol South MP Karin Smyth was scathing about the reports.

In what will be seen as a veiled swipe at Mr Rees, she said local people need “a signal from those running the city that they are not forgotten.”

In her Voice column, she writes: “Where we needed vision, bold thinking and a willingness

to invest boldly, we were instead presented with management speak of the worst order.

“Moreover, there was an unsettling reliance on intelligence from a private developer, alongside an overarching feeling that the reports simply said what they’d been asked to.” The reports “pose more questions than they answer”, she said, and also “avoid assessing crucial issues”.

She continued: “It is an accepted fact that South Bristol needs investment, jobs and improved infrastructure. I would also contend that residents need a signal from those running the city that they are not forgotten.

Instead, we are now looking at a

process which has not only failed to deliver in every regard, but actually cost millions of tax payers’ money to achieve precisely nothing. ” Former mayor George Ferguson also attacked the reports – whose conclusions had been widely predicted – in advance. He called the idea of a Filton arena “a betrayal of the people of Bristol” and said he wished he had signed the contract to start construction before he left office in May 2016.

Cllr Hopkins, however, blamed Mr Ferguson for an “over-ambitious design” which allowed costs to spiral. He also pointed to a flow of key staff from Bristol city council to YTL. “I think that Bristol city council is not in a position where it can make an objective judgement because all the experts it was relying on before are now working for YTL,” he said.

Others were more cautious.

Simon Peacock, Bristol regional director for property consultancy JLL, told bristol-business.net: “In an ideal world, there is no doubt a city centre location would be best, but we are not in an ideal world. If the YTL site at Filton is the only way to get the thing built, because of the level of public investment required for the Temple Quay site – money the council simply does not have – then we must press ahead.”

KPMG was until 2017 auditor for YTL – though it has now given up the role. The reports: tinyurl.com/bristolarenareports • Your councillors: pages 32-33 • Your MP: page 46

FILTON (top picture) 16,000-seat venue in Brabazon Hanger; YTL says cost is £80m KMPG says ...

• Arena would not need public funding, if a £53m grant could be used for transport works; • “Significant risk remains as to the commercial and technical deliverability because of the early stage of development”; • “Economic and employment impact of Filton arena will exceed that of Temple Island”; • But “there would be some leakage of economic benefit outside of Bristol”, and the figures for Filton are “not ready for advanced due diligence.”

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

July 2018

southbristolvoice

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n NEWS

BEDMINSTER GREEN

Rollo struggles to convince on height and parking fears DEVELOPER Rollo Homes met residents of Windmill Hill in an attempt to reassure them over its planning application for 215 flats on Malago Road.

Architect David Rhodes and planning expert Kit Stokes tried to convince members of WHaM, the Windmill Hill planning group, that the proposed blocks of up to nine storeys on the old Pring & St Hill steelworks are needed to provide the homes Bristol people are so desperate for.

But they struggled to convince the audience, many of whom couldn’t understand why there are more homes per hectare in the Wapping Wharf development – which is no more than six storeys high.

It’s because the rules on how you work out housing density are complex, said Mr Rhodes.

Wapping Wharf has little outside space and small flats, while the Rollo homes will each have an average of 23.5 sq m of outside space – most have a balcony.

It’s simply not true, though, that the development would overshadow the historic St John’s churchyard, the Rollo team said, in response to a question.

Won’t the courtyards between the Rollo buildings be in constant shadow, asked a resident? “I don’t see why anyone would want to use them, you will have great high buildings either side,” he said.

No, said Mr Rhodes, the

courtyards are south-west facing and will catch the evening sun.

Garden areas are two storeys up, above the car park, so there are only four or five storeys above them, said Mr Rhodes.

He also denied there would be any risk from emissions from the site’s energy centre.

The flue will not protrude above the eight-storey building which forms the pointed end of the site nearest Sheene Road.

The gas-fired power plant will produce hot water, heat and some electricity for the 215 Rollo homes, not the whole Bedminster Green area. It will be much more efficient than having 200 gas

TOWER PLANS SUBMITTED SOON

D

ANDARA, the Isle of Man-based developer, expects to apply for planning permission this summer to build 340 flats between Stafford Street and Little Paradise, in blocks of up to 18 storeys.

The firm specialises in building and then renting out its flats, said director Ed Tynan. “So it’s in our interests to have something with a high quality design,” he told a meeting of Bedminster Town Team, which represents traders.

Members of the Town Team appeared largely happy with the plans – though residents groups such as WHaM object strongly.

Roof gardens: The Malago Road flats would mostly have balconies boilers, said Mr Rhodes.

An earlier plan to build an energy centre to power the whole of Bedminster Green from the site has been dropped, making way for 32 affordable homes in this separate block.

Other attendees objected to the fact that only half the homes, 90 or so, will have parking spaces.

But the council will simply not Traders are hoping hundreds of new homes will bring new customers to revive East Street.

Dandara want to see a framework plan, which includes the Green’s other three developers, released within weeks to help end public uncertainty, the meeting was told.

George Grace, manager of the Town Team, pleaded for the developments to be designed to connect easily with East Street.

Like the Rollo scheme (above) it will have parking for about half the flats – the council won’t allow more, said Dandara.

But this will lead to people parking elsewhere, said one trader: “People won’t give up their car because the council wants them to.”

allow any more parking in an area so close to rail, bus and future Metrobus links, Rollo said.

The Rollo team also struggled to win over the 50-strong audience to the height of the blocks. “ I think you have realised that there’s a huge amount of unhappiness and concern about this, and you can take that away and address it – and get those heights down!” said Nick Townsend, WHaM chair.

After the event, a spokesman for Bedminster-based Rollo said: “We’ve made significant changes based on feedback, including reducing the height from 11 to six, seven and nine storeys to help protect the long distance views for people from Windmill Hill.

“We’ve reduced the density so it is in line with Wapping Wharf; we’ve increased the level of outdoor space; we’ve pulled the scheme back to allow for the future provision of bus lanes along Malago Road, pushed it forward where it fronts the Malago river, and been working closely with the other Bedminster Green developers to ensure that the area becomes a vibrant new neighbourhood.”

Making links: Volunteer Mike

wide range of interests, and part of what we do is to match people up to them”, said Mike. “I’ve been able to link someone with an interest in carpentry to a very friendly wood-working group.

“Another person who had been a chef was delighted when we told him that there was a ‘kitchen on prescription’ which helps people cook for their particular medical condition.

“It’s a privilege to help people

with what often feels to be their most pressing need: contact with other people. Isolation can lead to despair. It is a great pleasure to be able to help people be invigorated by companionship.”

So far the Community Navigators have helped 400 people across Bristol. To find out more, email community.navigators @nhs.net or call Gemma on 0117 440 9100. communitynavigators.org.uk

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

southbristolvoice

n NEWS Survey shows overwhelming rejection of high rise blocks to solve housing crisis

Navigate your way back into companionship ARE YOU over 50 and at a bit of a loose end – or, worse, feeling cut off from the world outside?

A group operating in South Bristol, Community Navigators, is offering a helping hand to assist people in finding new interests and making friends.

Mike is a Community Navigator volunteer who works across the south of the city.

“There are so many groups in South Bristol that cater for a

July 2018

THE ATTITUDE of Bristol city council towards tall buildings has been thrown into confusion following consultation which found skyscrapers are opposed by a large majority of residents who responded.

About 600 people sent in comments on the council’s Urban Living document, even though the consultation was not widely publicised and lasted only eight weeks, from February to April.

More than 70 per cent were against the idea that Bristol should “extensively promote high rise tower blocks to meet its housing need”.

A similar number, 68 per cent, favoured providing homes mainly in low- and mid-rise developments like Wapping Wharf near the harbourside, and Paintworks on Bath Road.

An even bigger proportion, 82 per cent, strongly disagreed with allowing buildings that are significantly higher than those around them.

And 75 per cent agreed that new buildings should reflect the prevailing height nearby.

The results of the Urban Living survey were revealed by senior planning officials on June 13 to members of interest groups including WHaM – the Windmill Hill community planning group which opposes high-rises – and the newly-formed Bristol Campaign Against Tower Blocks.

“We all left feeling that there was quite a lot of good news.

They cannot ignore the depth of feeling when they get this feedback,” said Nick Townsend, chair of WHaM. “We are not complacent at all but it encourages us. If they look at this consultation they cannot possibly go ahead with tall buildings,” he told the Voice.

A council spokesperson was at pains to point out that Urban Living is a consultation about how to provide high-density housing, not just about high-rises.

Yet the planners’ presentation on June 13 seems to be sympathetic to objections about tall buildings. It quotes architect Lloyd Alter talking about what he

13

The people reject tall buildings – so what IS council policy going to be?

NOT QUITE ON THE SAME PAGE ...

Mayor Marvin Rees, left, favours tall buildings. Yet the council’s Urban Living document mainly features mid-rise developments, such as Paintworks, right “I want Bristol’s skyline to grow.

Years of low level buildings and a reluctance to build up in an already congested city….. is something I am keen to change. I acknowledge that higher density development- particularly tall buildings- is an emotive subject both for and against; advocates suggest tall buildings represent ambition and meet growth requirements, while those against often cite the need to protect the unique character of the city, and voice concerns that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past.

Both positions are valid.” Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees, introduction to Urban Living supplementary planning document, February 2018

“There is what I have called the Goldilocks density: dense enough to support vibrant main streets with retail and services for local needs, but not too high that people can’t take the stairs in a pinch. Dense enough to build a sense of community, but not so dense as to have everyone slip into anonymity…..At the Goldilocks density, streets are a joy to walk; sun can penetrate to street level and the ground floors are often filled with cafes that spill out onto the street, where one can sit without being blown away, as often happens around towers. Yet the buildings can accommodate a lot of people.” Toronto-based architect Lloyd Alter, 2014

calls the Goldilocks density, an ideal for inner-city housing, where: “sun can penetrate to street level ...where one can sit without being blown away, as often happens around towers.”

It also quotes Labour politician Nye Bevan, talking about the post-war need for mass housing: “We shall be judged for a year or two by the number of houses we build. We shall be judged in 10 years’ time by the type of houses we build.”

The planners told their audience they had been sent “numerous arguments against tall buildings,” and that some had complained the guidance should do more “to emphasise

that denser development does not necessarily mean tall development”.

Many of the comments referred to Bedminster Green – and were very anti-skyscraper (see panel, top right).

There was support for high rises from the developers: “Some parts of the property industry are supportive of tall buildings and felt the document should go further and say, for example, that the whole of the Eastside area is appropriate for tall buildings,” read the planners’ brief.

(Eastside is thought to refer to long-term plans to redevelop St Philip’s.) Yet the campaigners came away surprised and

TALL BUILDINGS FEEDBACK TO THE COUNCIL ON BEDMINSTER GREEN • Very high density (350 dwellings per hectare) is too much for Bedminster – from a community and environmental perspective.

• Needs supportive infrastructure, such as schools and doctors’ surgeries.

• Very tall buildings aren’t the only solution to increasing housing stock and are inappropriate for Bedminster.

• Homes shouldn’t come at the expense of employment space.

• Bedminster has a unique and historic character.

• Bedminster is an urban area, not an inner‐city area.

• Bedminster should have a joined‐up overall plan (a master‐ plan) that is developed with the community. delighted that their arguments had been heard.

Matthew Montagu-Pollock, founder of Bristol Campaign Against Tower Blocks, called the meeting an “unvarnished presentation of Bristol’s rejection of tall buildings, complete with bar charts.”

He added: “The planners know, and the vast majority of the planning community agrees with them, that building tall is more expensive, bad for residents, destructive of communities, bad for cities, and especially inappropriate for historic cities like Bristol.”

It’s not clear whether these views are shared by mayor Marvin Rees or his cabinet.

Cllr Nicola Beech, cabinet member for city design, was billed to address the meeting but did not attend because of illness.

Mr Rees has gone out of his way to back the idea of tall buildings. His introduction to the Urban Living document begins “I want Bristol’s skyline to grow,” (see panel, above left).

The council said the feedback will be used to produce another Urban Living document, and a further one that will be titled Tall Buildings. These will be guidance, not rigid policy.

Mr Montagu-Pollock said this will give campaigners more time to make their case before all the new policies are drawn into a Local Plan for the city in two years. The results of the consultation can be found at tinyurl.com/brisurbanliving

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

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July 2018

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Hi-tech wifi booths with digital adverts are thrown out by planners CONTROVERSIAL applications to install new hi-tech phone booths in Knowle, Bedminster and elsewhere have been rejected by the city council.

Planners have thrown out 25 planning applications for Inlink phone and wifi units, which use Google technology.

The units, which would each have two digital advertising

screens, would be “alien, prominent and intrusive,” planning officials said. The Inlinks would provide free phone calls and internet connections.

But they contain CCTV cameras and have been attacked as “Google spy kiosks”.

The public made dozens of objections to the kiosks in Wells Road, Knowle, outside Asda in

Bedminster, and elsewhere.

Nicola Round from campaigning group Adblock Bristol said: “The InLink units were swept through in London despite a lack of clarity around how the technology will be used and how it will affect citizens, but Bristol has recognised the multiple social and environmental problems

associated with these units and is taking a stand.

She fears the applicants may try another tack – claiming the InLinks are essential telecoms equipment, which would be subject to less scrutiny.

AdBlock is also campaigning against large digital advertising screens in the city centre. adblockbristol.org.uk

Mayor leads memorial to Kamil as calls grow to prevent more needless killings No more disabled asylum seekers must be failed in this way, say campaigners

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DISABLED people and asylum seekers are uniting to demand that the failings that led to the murder of Knowle resident Kamil Ahmad are never repeated.

A memorial to Kamil, and to other disabled asylum seekers and refugees who have been failed by the system, will be unveiled by Bristol mayor Marvin Rees on June 29.

By then, the breakdown of the system that was meant to protect Kamil may have been spelled out in public.

The results of a serious case review into Kamil’s murder may be released as soon as June 21, after the Voice has gone to press.

Kamil was knifed to death by Jeffery Barry at a sheltered house for people with mental health problems at 246 Wells Road, Knowle, in July 2016. Barry is a

Kamil Ahmad spoke out about the plight of disabled asylum seekers before he was killed by Jeffery Barry in their home at 246 Wells Road paranoid schizophrenic with a record of violence and threats.

He killed Kamil only hours after he was released from the Cygnet private psychiatric hospital in Weston-super-Mare.

At Barry’s trial last year, it was revealed that staff at the Wells Road home, run by the Milestones Trust, had tried desperately to have Barry detained for longer.

But an independent mental health panel ordered Barry’s release.

The BBC reported in June that the panel did not have a full record of Barry’s violent history.

Nor did they realise that he had been taken off an anti-psychotic drug which had been keeping his behaviour under control.

The panel may even have relied on Barry himself for details of his record.

Barry claimed in court he was guilty only of manslaughter due to diminished repornsibility, but a jury convicted him of murder.

The memorial event at City Hall on June 29 will be part of the Bristol Refugee Festival. A procession will lead to We The Curious (formerly At Bristol), where there will be a discussion of the challenges faced by

Cannibal lecture Plea to save kids’ boxing club

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WE NEED to talk about … cannibalism. At least, that’s what science communicator James Williams is inviting you to do at Arnos Vale cemetery. He answers questions such as, what parts of a human are tastiest? and tries to separate facts from myths. His talk is on July 2 at 7.30pm; £12. arnosvale.org.uk/events

AN APPEAL has gone out to find a new home for a muchrespected Knowle West boxing club which has helped scores of young people.

Chris Winters, known as Skemer, runs Skemer’s Boxing Gym in Tavistock Road.

The Park Centre, which owns the land, told him last year that it

needed to sell the plot for housing, in order to support its own building.

But Skemer, who teaches antibullying classes and frequently lets children in for free, has ben unable to find a new home.

He needs a building nearby at least 60ft by 30ft. If you can help, call 07594 726905.

disabled asylum seekers.

The families of Kamil, and of Bijan Ebrahimi, a disabled refugee murdered just two years earlier in Brislington, will be present.

Kamil was a disabled Kurdish man who came to Britain seeking sanctuary having been imprisoned and tortured in Iraq.

Ellen Clifford from pressure group Disabled People Against the Cuts said: “Kamil never gave up his loving nature and sense of justice, despite the horrific experiences he had been through.

It seems fitting that one of the ways of honouring his memory, together with others who have been failed by the system, is by creating a stronger movement for change.”

Attendees will come from all over the country to hear disabled asylum seekers speak about their experiences and to explore the root causes of current problems.

The event starts at 2.30pm on College Green with a memorial. A reproduction of a mural made by Kamil and other disabled asylum seekers will be hung in the foyer of City Hall. facebook.com/ disabilityandmigration

River explorers EXPLORE the River Malago, one of South Bristol’s bestkept secrets, on July 1 with the Friends of Avon New Cut. Starting at 10.30am, the walk takes in the sites of two water mills and hidden culverts.

Places are limited: email derekwhughes@btinternet.com or call 01179 544 888.

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

July 2018

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PLASTIC ATTACKS GO VIRAL

How simple plastic attacks in South Bristol Voice naturalist and campaigner Alex Morss reveals how protests against plastic packaging that began here in South Bristol have snowballed into a global movement

I

T IS easy to think we are personally incapable of anything more than tiny ripples, when we need a massive tidal wave of global change to heal our trashed planet.

But here is a great example of people power, and I hope it will replenish the optimism in anyone who, like me, sometimes feels despair and helplessness on environmental issues.

A small anti-plastic

movement that we began at stores here in South Bristol has now gone global. It has shown what a huge influence we can have as ordinary people – and that campaigning is not a waste of time.

South Bristol members of new local campaign group #OneByOne began staging and promoting ‘plastic attacks’ at BS3 supermarkets earlier this year.

These peaceful protests involve shoppers being invited to rip off all the unwanted plastic packaging and handing it back after paying, asking the shops to recycle or deal with the plastic.

Our local uprising was perfectly timed, because the issue had just hit the mainstream public consciousness after being highlighted by Sir David Attenborough during the Blue Planet II TV series.

Sir David showed that the furthest reaches of the oceans are awash with plastic, and it is

ICELAND LEADS THE WAY ONE STORE chain, Iceland, has promised to remove all own-brand plastic packaging by 2023. Other brands are starting to follow and trial ideas.

Iceland spokesman Keith Hann told the Voice it will be a “huge challenge” but they have seen an “overwhelmingly positive” response from customers. “The major barrier to action is the need to achieve plastic reduction without creating another problem,” he said, such as an increase in food waste, or creating greater volumes of non-recyclable or non-compostable packaging. harming all kinds of wildlife.

Soon afterwards, in January, I sent out an angry Tweet about an ‘organic’ coconut pictured at Sainsbury’s in Winterstoke Road, that had been stripped of its skin and covered in plastic, sold

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PLASTIC ATTACKS GO VIRAL

sparked off protests all over the world

“We can improve shelf life by switching out of plastic, for example into paper or pulp punnets for mushrooms and strawberries, but overall, plastic provides good protection for products and the biggest challenge is ensuring that replacements can match this.”

He added: “Iceland has advantages over many other retailers, in carrying a much smaller range than the major supermarkets, and in being a private, family company that can take long-term decisions.”

Iceland has stores at the Broadwalk Centre in Knowle, East Street, Bedminster, Avonmead, and Winterstoke Road, Ashton. wrapped in a box with a plastic straw. That went around the world and found its way on to pretty much every UK news channel, radio station and newspaper, with the chief executive of Sainsbury’s, Mike

THE HANDYPERSON SERVICE YOU CAN TRUST When Mr and Mrs Leaper in Horfield needed some door handles replaced, their first thought was to call WE Care & Repair.

It was the sort of thing Mr Leaper would have taken care of himself, but now in his 90s he was aware that he should be taking it easy.

They’d previously used a WE Care & Repair handyperson to repair a kitchen cabinet and were impressed by the service – “We had a good laugh, (the handyman) was very pleasant and did a nice job. You can always rely on the service and the cost wasn’t excessive, which is important as money has to last.”

If you are over 60 or disabled of any age and need something doing you may wish to consider WE Care & Repair’s handyperson service. They can look at any handyperson-type work around the home: carpentry, fixtures, plumbing, security, flat pack assembly and adaptations like grab handles and supporting rails, to help with the stairs or the bathroom.

The work is subsidised by Bristol City Council, so the rates are competitive. We are a local organisation with over 30 years experience, we are accountable and trustworthy.

July 2018

Unhappy shoppers at Sainsbury’s in Winterstoke Road with unwanted wrapping, left, and protesters, right Coupe, going on national TV and vowing to investigate.

And although sadly the boss has so far failed to restore the coconut to its natural state – it is still being sold wrapped in plastic – it helped trigger an army of plastic attackers to band together and do ‘mass unwraps’ at staged events across South Bristol, at branches of Asda, Sainsbury, Aldi, and further afield at Waitrose, Morrisons and Tesco.

Action groups who teamed up to demonstrate included members of Bristol campaign group #OneByOne, Bristol Greenpeace, Bristol Friends of the Earth, BS3 Plastic Free, Action Greater Bedminster, Plastic Free Bristol and a similar group called Keynsham Plastic Re-Action. A video of a plastic attack in Keynsham has now had

Fitting grab rails and hand rails Repairing leaky taps Fitting locks Fitting shelves and curtain rails Cleaning and unblocking gutters Installing additional sockets Assembling flat pack furniture

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18 million views on Facebook.

The protests have been copied by frustrated shoppers in more than 100 towns and cities in the UK, Ireland, France, Switzerland, Italy, Holland, Belgium, Portugal, Austria, Norway, Canada, Peru, Australia and China. Many of them got in touch to tell us we inspired them to take action.

One news report in France published by Bioplastics News website likened the plastic attacks to “the bullet that started the First World War” and called it a people’s revolution.

Well-known people have helped shared the message on social media, including comedian Jennifer Saunders, Adrian Utley of the band Portishead, actors Jim Murray and Liam Bergin, and authors Sean Taylor and Suzy Davies. Musician Billy Bragg turned up at one store to join in with a mass unwrap.

Belgian singer-songwriter Frédéric Sioen, who is known across Europe, saw the Bristol protests on social media and decided to spread the movement to the Continent. He encouraged his followers to join him in plastic attacks, with fellow musicians and street performers.

Protesters have signed two petitions – one calling for a Bristol city-wide ban on single-use disposable plastics; and a second petition by Greenpeace asking stores to move to plastic-free. The latter has half a million signatures.

Greenpeace research claims UK supermarkets generate 800,000 tonnes of plastic

packaging each year. Millions of tonnes of plastic litter end up in the ocean each year, with devastating consequences for wildlife. #OneByOne’s own analysis from plastic attack results shows that the majority of plastic we’ve handed back has been supermarket own-brand. This unnecessary single-use, mostly non-recyclable packaging is generated at a rate that would fill 10,000 trolleys per hour. We have hundreds of photographs of needless plastic wrapping.

There is evidence that much of the food wrapped in plastic could be sold and kept fresh without it, and food waste would not necessarily increase as a result.

The current system makes plastic cheap and easy for UK supermarkets and producers.

They pay less than any other

European country towards collecting and recycling waste: tax payers meet 90 per cent of the bill.

A new code of conduct, UK Plastic Pact, is being promoted by the industry and Government think-tank Wrap UK. But we think it is too slow, too voluntary, not bold enough and largely passes the onus on to consumers, not producers. Wrap UK has criticised our campaign, and insists plastic is best in many cases, but we believe this is not founded on sufficient independent evidence. Efforts to research alternative ways of packaging have been inadequate.

We believe that Wrap UK’s claim that the industry can achieve ‘100% sustainable plastic’ is an oxymoron, and is very unlikely to be achieved in the forseeable future, under current policies.

We believe change will happen faster if there is increased public pressure and awareness, more regulation, incentives and penalties to make supermarkets think differently, a move away from the cheap and easy plastic model, more lateral thinking, habit change and greater pressure for innovation.

Several UK supermarkets have told us they are listening to our campaigners, and that the protests by customers have shown them they must do more.

• The next peaceful protest will be a plastic attack at Lidl in Sheene Road, Bedminster, on Sunday, July 8, 1-3pm. All welcome.

You can see a film of one of the Keynsham protests here: tinyurl.com/plasticprotest

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

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60% RESERVED n NEWS

July 2018

July 2018

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Exterior finish is subject to change

NEWS Welcome for new priest in Windmill Hill PEOPLE in Windmill Hall are getting to know their the new vicar – Rev Michael Doarks, priest-in-charge of St Michaels & All Angels church.

Rev Michael Doarks looks set to be a busy man – he is already priest at St Francis in Bedminster, where he lives, and he’s now expected to run both churches, following the departure of Rev David Moss last year.

He doesn’t mind the extra work: “It’s a joy to be paid for something you are passionate about!” he said.

He was officially licensed by the Bishop of Swindon, the Right Rev Dr Lee Rayfield, in front of around 100 people on June 14.

Andrew has two young children and is married to Kate.

From 2011 to 2014, he was curate at St Luke’s in Brislington.

He’s already getting to know the area: “This church is known

Wild women tackle Chekhov REVIEW: Three Sisters, after Anton Chekov, Tobacco Factory T STARTS in blackout. Light up, we see three women in gowns, staring into space. Black out – lights up – they’ve moved. Repeat.

They seem depressed, self-absorbed or laden with existential crisis.

The Three Sisters, Olga, Masha and Irena, are accompanied by two female musicians. At one point they are dressed as the Spice Girls, with red-headed Masha in Union Jack-sequinned dress. Later one wears a sequined balaclava, à la Pussy Riot. Mention of a fire in the city, from the original Chekov text, is timely; we all think Grenfell.

The sisters clothe and unclothe each other – laid bare, near-naked on stage. Discarded costumes are thrown onto a heap, which builds.

In sensual acrobatic dances the cast balance, leap, lean and loll across each other. It feels chaotic and powerful and liberating, and funny – faux breastfeeding a bust of Chekov a case in point.

Abbi Greenland, who plays Masha, is the standout performer

I

Two parishes: Rev Andrew Doarks for having a lot of young children and because I have two preschool children, I’m very well placed to understand the pressures we meet in family life,” he said.

He’s looking to work with other local churches, such as Victoria Park Baptist church, on things like charity work, and a joint churches project to help people with problem debts.

“I have also been a pianist all my life so I’m interested in growing the music here,” he said, adding that he’s keen to be part of the area’s active artistic life.

• More on the Voice website

19 – funny, ironic, universal, with a voice that belts out some amazing numbers. They all play instruments and sing, unapologetically fearless.

This provocative production by RashDash theatre company describes Chekhov as a dead white man and asks, why do the men in this play have all the lines?

Confession: I haven’t read or seen the original Three Sisters, but I am now inspired to check it out.

The finale is a rip-roaring piece which begins with Masha reading a review of a performance of Three Sisters. It becomes poetry, then rap, then a full-bodied punk rock session, spitting the refrains “I love Chekov!” and “the acting was good, this is good!” It flipping is – it’s remarkable. Beccy Golding • More arts – pages 42-44

Three Sisters: With extra women

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We have really appreciated the support from so many special customers, and all the people of the area since we took over the former Branches store in Bristol. Now, to improve our ranges and clear excess stock from across the group, we will undertake a major clearing & remerchandising programme exclusively at the Bristol shop. We must clear the floor without delay so this major project can be completed. The Bristol store is briefly closed to reduce prices and prepare for the launch of our £785,000 STOCK DISPOSAL GRAND SALE. EVERY SINGLE PRICE WILL BE DRASTICALLY REDUCED! THIS WILL BE OUR BIGGEST EVER SALE! We must urgently sell off all of our stock including: Sofas, chairs, dining sets, sideboards, dressers, robes, chests, bedframes, mattresses, coffee & lamp tables, bookcases, rugs, mirrors, wicker baskets & storage, pictures, lamps, furnishing accessories, etc...

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It’s The Vale, or our villages

GRAND SALE!

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July 2018

I FIND it very interesting to read your article about Ashton Vale and in particular the proposed housing development nearby called The Vale. This proposal by developer Taylor Wimpey has a particular resonance for me and all residents of Churchill and Langford areas. The Vale is in the North Somerset council (NSC) area and also in the Green Belt.

NSC are opposed to any use of Green Belt; their alternative is to develop greenfield sites 15 miles from Bristol. They propose massive developments in the Churchill/Langford area with over 2,800 houses and new link roads, and 1,900 houses at Banwell. NSC’s reasoning is that government inspectors said their long-term plans had not allowed enough building land in the area.

If the Vale proposals are approved, this would easily reach the target for housing land in North Somerset. The Vale project would put many new rented homes near to Bristol, as Taylor Wimpey have proposed 50 per of their houses would be for rental.

These houses are desperately needed by many people who want to live near Bristol and their workplace, and who have no chance of buying a home.

In your article you said

L

Backwell or Nailsea would struggle to cope with new homes because they do not have the infrastructure. However, Backwell and Nailsea have never been considered for very large housing developments.

Imagine how much more difficult it would be if the Churchill and Banwell plans were ever developed in small villages with even less infrastructure.

The Churchill and Langford Action Group (CALRAG) have a good website with more detail of these damaging proposals by NSC. churchilldevelopment.co.uk Bill Carruthers Churchill, North Somerset

Rethink these high-rise plans AS WARD councillors for Southville and Windmill Hill, we write to register our concerns at the scale of development being proposed at Bedminster Green.

We support the development of the area. We further support development which is high density. However, the current proposals are simply enormous.

The main problem is with the ever-increasing height being proposed. It is also with the concentration of tall buildings in this relatively small area.

It is massively unpopular with residents of both wards.

There is conflicting information

alongside a number of local charities including Help Bristol’s Homeless, a fantastic charity on Malago Road. If you have any concerns about any homeless individuals, please let us know.

O

ver the past couple of months there has been a spike in ASB and criminal damage in Windmill Hill and Totterdown, with a number of residents reporting damage to cars and properties. Officers have been working hard to catch those responsible and we have arrested three people suspected of being responsible for much of this damage.

The past week has seen problems with scrambler bikes being used inappropriately and dangerously in Victoria Park.

Operation Biker was introduced

Write to paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk or to 18 Lilymead Avenue, BS4 2BX

about whether tall buildings deliver higher densities, but accepting that they do, you can achieve most of the density with a much lower development. For example, Wapping Wharf – five or six storeys – has 194 dwellings per hectare. Developers at Bedminster Green suggest it would be 240 or so per hectare.

Residents of both wards have also raised concerns about air quality, and pressure on schools, doctors’ and dental practices. All these issues need to be addressed in any development, which needs to be as sustainable as possible.

However, the biggest concern is clearly the height of some of the proposed blocks. These will change the skyline for ever. The Urban Living supplementary planning document states: “The city is seeking to encourage tall buildings, built in the right locations and to a high quality of design.” Windmill Hill consists overwhelmingly of Victorian terraces. The area between East Street and Malago Road also has terraces and flats among industrial units. We reject the notion that this is the right location.

We are aware that the Bedminster Improvement District (BID) is supportive of the development but point out that they would get most of the benefit of an increased population serving East Street from a highdensity development that is considerably lower in height.

POLICE REPORT

ET ME introduce myself.

I’m Sergeant Erica Hagen and will be updating you here every month about what the local police teams have been doing in your community.

We now have a new member in the Windmill Hill beat team – PCSO Rebecca Crane has joined PC Sue Coates, PCSO Tomasz Mosakowski and PC Brett Worthington. Please do say hello if you see her out and about.

Rebecca has replaced PCSO Joanna Budzikowska, who is working with Bristol city council to help and support the homeless and prevent issues with anti-social behaviour (ASB) and street drinking, which had been escalating over recent months on East Street and nearby roads in Bedminster and Windmill Hill.

Joanna has been working

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We ask the developers of the Bedminster Green area to rethink the development and bring back proposals which are considerably lower in height. You could achieve 80-plus per cent of the benefit and lose 80-plus per cent of the opposition.

Cllr Lucy Whittle (Lab, Windmill Hill); Cllr Jon Wellington (Lab, Windmill Hill) Cllr Charlie Bolton (Green, Southville) • Cllr Stephen Clarke (Green, Southville) is not commenting, to avoid conflict of interest, as he sits on a development committee.

No benefit to the community I WAS annoyed and dismayed to find a story about staff sick leave at Knowle Park primary school in the June edition. I usually enjoy reading the Voice, but I fail to see how informing your readers of an individual’s sick leave benefits the wider community in South Bristol. A person’s health should be nobody’s business but their own, and the school had already informed all concerned parents in good time. In this instance, I feel you disregarded personal privacy for the sake of filing copy.

Tasha Cooper Jubilee Road, Knowle • Editor’s note: The article was prompted by a query from a parent.

With Sgt Erica Hagen Broadbury Road police station for this reason and we have specially-trained officers on scrambler bikes who can respond to these issues, so please call us if you see people riding their bikes dangerously and spoiling the enjoyment of the parks for others.

We need your help to keep the community safe and stamp out these problems. If you see or hear anything suspicious, please report it to us. You can do this via the ‘contact us’ section of the avonandsomerset.police website or if it’s a crime in progress, call 999. You can also report anonymously via Crimestoppers: crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling 0800 555 111.

O

ne of the most regular complaints that I have from members of the public is that they never see

their local policing team. We now have the technology to track our officers’ every move, so I know that our PCSOs spend the majority of their shifts patrolling the neighbourhood, often covering up to 15 miles a day on foot patrol and more when they are riding bikes. They try to vary their patrols every day.

If you would like to meet your neighbourhood team, we have drop-in beat surgeries at least twice a week at the Police Pod in the car park at Asda, as well as in the mobile police station which visits Victoria Park weekly. PCSO Mosakowski and our other Polish-speaking PCSOs will also be staffing the Asda pod for a monthly drop-in for Polish speakers.

Have a safe month!

Sergeant Erica Hagen

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

July 2018

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CELEBRATING KNOWLE Highlighting some of the businesses which make Knowle such a popular centre

Destination Knowle – a small WIN a free hair treatment worth £58 at Reflections in Knowle

T

HERE’S not much you can’t get in from the shops in Knowle clustered around the Broadwalk, from fresh food to frozen, vegetables to meat, plus services from tailoring to cycle repairs. And not forgetting estate agents such as Matthews, who have been serving the area for decades.

Reflections

5a Broad Walk, Knowle BS4 2RA 0117 972 3011 reflectionshair.co.uk REFLECTIONS Hair Group is a family-owned business. Its Knowle salon is celebrating almost 30 successful years in Broadwalk Shopping Centre.

With its friendly staff and warm welcome, the salon has gained an enviable reputation

ADVERTISING FEATURE

TO CELEBRATE almost 30 years at their Broad Walk salon, the team at Reflections are offering Voice readers a special prize – a cut and colour worth around £58!

To win, answer this question: What’s the latest must-have treatment at Reflections?

Just send your entry by email among local residents. Manager Jade Edgell said: “During the six years that I have been salon manager, myself and my team have established a great rapport with our clients. We constantly refresh our skills to keep on-trend with latest cutting and colouring techniques, and offer a variety of services, from ear-piercing and gents barbering to 30-minute cut and blowdries,

and complete colour makeovers.

“What’s my latest must-have treatment? Definitely Olaplex!

This product has revolutionised the hairdressing industry and actually rebuilds the broken bonds in the hair – we have seen some incredible results and our clients absolutely love the take-home product”.

Reflections Broadwalk offers 20% off for students, OAPs and

to paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk, or by post to Reflections Competition, 18 Lilymead Avenue, Bristol BS4 2BX, to arrive

by July 18.

• Not open to employees of Reflections or the Voice, or under-18s; winner must live in BS3 or BS4.

southbristolvoice

CELEBRATING KNOWLE

town inside the city Flowers Galore

302 Wells Road, Knowle 0117 972 3366 flowersgaloreltd.co.uk FLOWERS Galore has been a constant favourite in the Broadwalk shopping scene for many years, since it was taken

F i r s t I m p r e s s i o n s A l w a y s Co u n t

Reflections Knowle is located outside the Broadwalk Shopping Centre. Salon Manager Jade and her creative team offer a variety of services from ear-piercing and gents barbering to 30-minute cut and blow dries and complete colour makeovers.

EAR PIERCING available - £15 20% DISCOUNT for students, OAPs, NHS/Emergency services COMPLIMENTARY scalp massage with every service FREE PARKING nearby LATE NIGHT every Thursday 9.00-5.30 9.00-6.00 9.00-6.00 9.00-6.30 9.00-6.00 8.30-5.30

Reflections, 5a Broad Walk, Knowle, Bristol BS4 2RA

Tel: 0117 972 3011 www.Reflectionshair.co.uk To advertise, contact sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk or Ruth on 07590 527664

23

over by owner Helen Brown in 2002. It moved from one side of Wells Road to the other in 2012 but the formula has remained the same, centred on fresh, beautiful flowers. The range is second to none with a huge array of blooms available to be made into bouquets – plus a selection

Flowers Galore

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of ready-made arrangements always for sale. But it’s not just about flowers. There are lots of potted plants too, from orchids to bulbs, depending on the season.

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FEATURES

A

N OVERCAST Friday afternoon in Ashton Vale, and I’m excited – I’m about to look for signs of a creature most people probably think doesn’t come anywhere near Bristol – the otter.

But first I have to find the expert guides from the Greater Bristol Otter Group – and after a bit of to-ing and fro-ing around the residential streets of the Vale, I see three purposeful-looking women tying their boots beside a car at the end of Ashton Drive.

This must be them – yes, it’s Sian Parry, Cher Czugalinski and Hannah Watts, the founders of the local otter group.

What are we here for, I ask, and what do we hope to see?

They quickly lower my expectations – we are pretty unlikely to see an otter. But they are very hopeful of finding evidence that otters are nearby – and they are upbeat about the prospects for these lively creatures in Bristol generally.

They exist in more places than you might think – almost everywhere there is water, from the Henleaze swimming lake, to the River Avon and the Floating Harbour.

“Someone in Westbury-onTrym told me they saw an otter in their back garden,” says Sian.

We set off around the back of some garages and straight away we are beside Colliter’s Brook, a gentle stream only inches deep but surrounded by vegetation.

The excitement comes almost immediately. The undergrowth clears and three experts clamber down to the brook – “That looks like spraint!” someone says.

They’re talking about the otters’ distinctive poo – always left as a marker, usually on a rock where it can’t be washed away.

Hannah says: “They do it so that other otters can smell it – it’s always above the waterline.”

“It’s to say, ‘I’m here!’ and mark their territory,” adds Cher.

Hannah explains that poo is the main evidence that otters are

OTTERS ON THE UP Numbers slowly increasing

A

July 2018

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24

NEW survey of the UK shows, surprisingly perhaps, that otter numbers are rising – up almost 50 per cent to 11,000, according to a survey by the Mammal Society, released in June.

It’s a rare success story among a tide of bad news for UK wildlife. TV

SOUTH BRISTOL OTTER EXPEDITION

July 2018

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We often encourage you to look for South Bristol wildlife, from butterflies to hedgehogs – but did you know there are otters on our doorstep? Paul Breeden puts on his wellies to take a look about. Cher adds that their footprints are hard to find as “they have five toes and the fifth doesn’t often show, and overlapping dogs’ prints can confuse things.”

This is older, grey poo on a rock only yards from Ashton Drive – good proof that the otters are using the stream.

We carry on, emerging after 100 yards or so onto Brook Gate and walking through part of the Vale’s industrial estate before plunging back into the greenery and picking up the brook again, off Brook Gate.

At a culvert, we look down six feet to see a splash of poo on a concrete ledge. It looks like the stuff we saw before, with bits poking out which might be fish bones.

We can’t see it well; I take a picture and zoom in on it. The experts peer: “I don’t think so.

Looks like something else has fallen onto it,” says Hannah.

“You need to smell it, some say it’s like jasmine tea!,” says Cher.

We walk on, joining a path which passes under the railway bridge next to the new South Bristol Link road.

Otters travel big distances, with a range of up to 20km, explains Cher, males even more, though they may take several days to cover all their territory.

They eat quite a diverse menu, mainly fish and eels, adds Hannah. I express surprise that naturalist Chris Packham has spoken of an environmental catastrophe in the making, and the new survey shows a fifth of UK mammal species are at risk of extinction.

But hopefully not the otter – since last surveyed in 1995, numbers have risen from an estimated 7,350. A reduction in use of organophosphate pesticides

25

SOUTH BRISTOL OTTER EXPEDITION

PHOTO: © Richard Scantlebury

Urban explorers: Cher, Hannah and Sian venture along Colliter’s Brook

Thriving: A Bristol otter, though sadly not seen on our South Bristol expedition

Looking for fish bones in the poo

We’re going hunting for otters – in the friendliest way there are many fish to catch in Colliter’s Brook, which is only inches deep at best.

“I think if there weren’t fish they wouldn’t be here,” says Hannah. They also eat moorhens, crayfish and frogs, she says – but the brook does contain small fish such as sticklebacks and bullheads. There may even be mink, she says – a non-native animal which has the same habits and diet as the otter.

Now we are walking on a path above dense vegetation hiding the brook, and it doesn’t seem so impossible that all kinds of creatures live there unseen.

“Otters and mink do the same thing and their spraint looks similar, that’s why you need to smell it”, says Hannah.

Sian points into the dense undergrowth just yards from the busy dual carriageway: “The brook runs right along here so we were quite concerned when the road was being built, but the and an end to otter hunting are among the positive factors. The prospects for the otter population and its habitats is stable, says the Mammal Society.

The otter now inhabits every part of the UK except central London and parts of Kent, and the chances are it will continue to find new ranges, the survey says. tinyurl.com/mammalssurvey

council ensured the appropriate mitigations.” This meant making sure the otters had easy routes away from the road, mainly tunnels underneath it.

We climb down to a broad section of the stream. The trio have found quite a lot of spraint here before. But there’s nothing here today, even though there are lots of rocks clear of the water and it looks an ideal place.

For now, we can see no signs of humanity, only trees, rocks and water. We splash our way upstream, like a band of four doughty naturalists tackling unknown rainforest.

“We found some!” shouts Cher from up ahead.

“If you can smell it, and it’s not horrible, it’s otter,” says Hannah. They bend and peer at a brown, wet deposit on a rock.

“You can see all the bones in here, yes definitely,” says Cher.

It’s the third time they have found spraint in this spot, just short of a bridge which takes the road safely over the brook.

And this poo is wet, which means it’s recent. But how old?

“Someone needs to do an experiment with a captive otter on how quickly it dries out!” says Hannah. “But that’s hours rather than days old, it’s probably just gone that way!”

I feel like a tracker on the trail of a tiger when the expert guide says “It’s a fresh kill – it’s round

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here somewhere!” I bend and smell: it just smells a bit wet and fishy. “It’s fantastic!” says Cher.

“Ottery people get excited when they find wet spraint,” explains Hannah. “That’s it, we can have a drink on this tonight!”

We are just yards from a Friday night traffic jam on a busy road. But otters are quite adaptable, Hannah adds, as long as they have clean water and enough food. The group has had a couple of reports of people seeing them by the Lloyds building at the amphitheatre in the harbour. Another otter was seen by the Co-op in St Anne’s, and a motorist saw one at Netham weir while he was stuck in traffic.

“As long as they don’t have to use roads, that’s where most deaths happen,” adds Sian. She says the group have just agreed with the city council that they will collect any dead otters found by the public. They send them off to Cardiff University for a post mortem. Most are road deaths, though there was one found

emaciated in Bristol harbour – which may already have been weakened by a road accident.

It turns out I have just missed World Otter Day on May 31. How did the group celebrate? They had a small social but the experts at Cardiff University marked the occasion by showing an otter post mortem. It might sound grisly, but it’s important to know the state of health of wild otters, and to find out how they died.

While we pause, I ask the three about their backgrounds

and why they are here.

Sian is keen on conservation, and used to work for Avon Wildlife Trust.

Cher said she first saw an otter when one was brought into her primary school, “and ever since I have been hooked”.

It sounds like a bit of an addiction, but Hannah’s is the worst: “I have been obsessed with otters ever since I was three.

My parents thought I would grow out of it, but I have got worse! It’s just an obsession.” Hannah

travels all over the world with the aim of seeing all 13 otter species.

Her tally will be four this year: her last trip was to Singapore, where there’s a thriving colony.

To reach her goal, she will have to visit every continent except Australasia and the Antarctic.

The three came together in 2010 when mammal expert Gill Brown suggested to Hannah that the was no group keeping tabs on otters around Bristol: why didn’t she set one up?

Through mutual contacts, Sian, Cher and Hannah got together and formed Greater Bristol Otter Group. They are still its core members, and have become firm friends.

With the help of around 10 members who hep in regular surveys of the waterways around Bristol, they have built up a picture of the otters’ situation locally, and it’s pretty positive.

They even told me of evidence of a holt, an otter’s waterside home where they raise their young, which they found last year – though for obvious reasons we are not going to reveal where it is.

We have reached Hanger Hill wood on the other side of the Link road, a wilder place where otters could easily pass unseen.

It’s been a fascinating afternoon, but back at SBV Towers a dog needs feeding and I have to go. I thank Sian, Cher and Hannah and promise to spread the word about helping them keep tabs on Bristol’s otter population (see panel below).

Some (shaky) video of our hunt: youtu.be/M4TiPpofGDE

rock, but it can be hard to identify.

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n FEATURES

J

ESS Wright is director, manager and owner of Zion, which celebrated its seventh birthday in June with a free daylong party. She is committed to bringing the arts, in all its forms, to the area, and creating a space that welcomes all the community.

Everything on her journey to the converted Methodist Chapel on Bishopsworth Road in Bedminster Down seems to have pointed her here.

“I grew up in Somerset, in Street,” she tells me, “did an art foundation course in Yeovil and a fine art degree in Exeter. Not very handy for making an income, it turns out,” she adds wryly.

After graduating in 1997 “I got a job as a picture researcher in Bristol – a job I’d never heard of!” It involved getting images for specialist corporate publications, in pre-digital days.

“I did a theatre design course at Bristol Old Vic theatre school, then went freelance, doing theatre design, prop making and graphic design. I worked for TV, small films, music videos, theatre. None of it brilliantly paid

July 2018

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Just a short step from Bedminster and Knowle is a unique community centre that hosts comedy, arts and music, as well as events for kids and their parents. And it’s got a great café.

Beccy Golding finds out more – I didn’t read the small print!”

In 2005 Jess started a magazine, Saturday Night, Sunday Morning, promoting local businesses. And opened an office and shop on North Street, called Retro Collectibles.

“Lots of small businesses don’t get an easy time – I wanted

ZION COMMUNITY SPACE

Home cooking: Jess, left, and partner Tanya live and work at Zion

Welcome to Zion, to celebrate what they do.” She created the South Bristol Business Awards. Held in 2007 and 2008, there were five

awards, each with £1,000 prize money donated by large businesses. The ceremony was held at the Tobacco Factory. “It

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n FEATURES

southbristolvoice

27 ZION COMMUNITY SPACE

Landmark event space: The former chapel is now a beautiful building with a stained-glass window. Above, Jess and Koshkin in the main hall

one of South Bristol’s best-kept secrets was good fun. And then the recession hit.”

With a colleague, Dave Morgan Davies, Jess then created an arts event for the ‘other end’ of North Street (towards Dean Lane). Illuminate, held over a weekend in 2009 and 2010, displayed art in empty shop windows, a bit like the current Window Wanderland.

The journey to Zion took a step forward. “I thought it would be much easier if I had a venue to hold events in. My mates kept coming in to drink my coffee – so I thought it would be a good idea to have a café too! And I wanted to live and work in the same place.”

Then lo and behold, “I visited some friends in Bishopsworth and saw the For Sale sign. I went to the open day – I thought there would be loads of people in suits – but there was only me and one other person. The building had a community caveat on it – hence no suits!”

To raise money for renovations, “I went to the banks – who laughed. None wanted to support a community centre. Eventually Triodos (the ethical bank) said yes to my business plan. In 2011 the sale went through.

“It was just a shell, the roof was off, but it had a really nice feeling. I did the community space up then sold my house and used the proceeds to create the living space where the vestry room and organ used to be.

“I was reticent to start with a

big bang (which is perhaps why lots of people haven’t heard of us). We had a soft opening and have grown slowly but sustainably. We started with a postcard to local homes, inviting people for tea and cake. Lots of people called in in the first few months, pleased we were here.

“There’s much less around here [than Bedminster] – there are pubs, the British Legion and us – we’re all needed.

“Lots of people were suspicious and didn’t think we’d last, but we have strong support now. The worst time was in 2012 – we were having a neighbourhood partnership meeting and there was a massive bang and a cloud of smoke – part of the gable wall fell in. No one was hurt, thank goodness. Conveniently the fire and police were at the meeting!

The whole road was closed off.

“We thought ‘this is the end’.

We had to raise £20,000 for repairs in two weeks. Over 100 people showed they cared, and through fund-raising and support from the council we got the money together to re-open. They had to take all the render off the front, and it’s beautiful now.”

This was when Fans of Zion was created. “Asking for money

is never easy, but people want to help – they all want the place to survive.” Annual membership is £25, which goes towards the upkeep of the building. In return Jess lays on a big annual party, with free food, luxury raffle and music. “People have said it’s the best thing they come to.”

This year Jess has secured some larger sources of funding too. “The Heritage Lottery Fund gave us money to restore the flower window (the large stained glass at the front of the building). Before it had an eye patch, now it’s a landmark. It was a boost for us and the community – people are proud of this building.

“And we received a £10k Lottery grant to renovate the café. We refurbished our chairs, re-oiled the floor, updated the kid’s area, and updated and painted the kitchen.

And Bristol Community Energy replaced all our lights with LED lighting.

“Evenings and weekends we’re really busy, but day trade is slower. We want to let people know we’re here. Our café serves excellent fresh food, we have a great menu and our ingredients are good. And we have a beautiful garden – it’s a lovely space.

“We’re also creating a mini

‘It was just a shell, the roof was off, but it had a really nice feeling. I went to the banks – who laughed. None wanted to support a community centre’

museum about the church and the local area, that’ll be up on the mezzanine, along with a new hot-desking area.”

There’s a full programme during the day, including groups for breastfeeding mums, local history and a memories café. “We aim to be different with our kids’ stuff. Lego sessions are really popular, we have the Little Music Band, lots of kids craft sessions, and Mr Gotalot’s Pop Up Shop” - high-energy, storytelling adventures with puppets.

Zion is big on unsual events – in the school holidays kids can sometimes make their own comic, led by comics illustrator Kev F. The evenings see pamper nights, live music and Angie Belcher’s monthly comedy depot, which started in January 2016.

The first ever Baby Comedy Depot, an afternoon gig of proper comedy where you can bring your babies, debuted in June.

Along with Tanya, her partner, Jess lives with Koshkin the cat, named after a Russian tank engineer. He’s often seen upstaging musicians and comedians as he strolls through the hall. “And we got some rabbits last year – they cost a fortune and show no love back!” Jezzer came from Hartcliffe City Farm, and his companion Winnie from a rabbit adoption scheme. “They live in a penthouse suite in the garden and we’re skint!” As if she isn’t busy enough, “I’d have a herd of guinea pigs if I was allowed.” zionbristol.org.uk

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

28

n PLANNING APPLICATIONS Knowle ward: Awaiting decision 12 Tennis Road BS4 2HG Demolition of extension/lean-to and erection of single storey rear extension.

412 Wells Road, Knowle BS14 9AF Non-material amendment following grant of permission 17/ 05102/F: Change of use from commercial use (Use class A1) to residential – two self-contained flats (Use class C3), with alterations to elevation fronting Wells Road; now proposed relocation of flat entrance to Wells Road frontage and enlarge kitchen to ground floor flat.

7 Withleigh Road BS4 2LG Single storey rear extension and extension to rear of main roof.

70 Beckington Road BS3 5ED Hip to gable roof extension and rooflight to front elevation.

75 Kingshill Road BS4 2SW Single storey rear extension with part two storey at rear.

13 Stoneleigh Road BS4 2RH Rear dormer roof extension.

61 Talbot Road BS4 2NN Change of use to a 6-bedroom HMO (house of multiple occupancy) with all rooms ensuite, communal kitchen and living room.

43 Beaconsfield Road, Knowle BS4 2JE Rear and side dormer roof extension.

418 Wells Road Knowle BS14 9AF Details in relation to condition 2 (Landscaping) of permission 18/01187/H: Single storey wrap-around extension with lean-to roof, re-building

southbristolvoice

existing garage. Replacement of porch. Widening of dropped kerb and driveway to provide offstreet parking for 2 vehicles.

74 Broadfield Road BS4 2UW Removal or variation of condition No. 3 following permission 13/05668/H: Increase in height of masts 1 and 2.

Knowle ward: Decided 37 Glena Avenue BS4 2LB Single storey side extension and two storey rear extension with associated works. Granted subject to conditions

July 2018

Knowle, Totterdown, Windmill Hill

ultrafast WiFi and other community services and removal of two BT payphones, with excess space returned to the community. Two digital LED screens, one on each side of the InLink. Refused 10 Airport Road BS14 9TA Demolish existing structure and build single storey rear extension. Granted subject to conditions

to extend beyond the rear by 4m, of maximum height 2.8m with eaves a maximum 2.8m.

19 Almorah Road BS3 4QQ Loft conversion and rear dormer.

51 Cotswold Road BS3 4NX Single storey rear extension.

154 Marksbury Road BS3 5LD Erection of an outbuilding.

28 Almorah Road BS3 4QQ Single storey side infill and wraparound rear extension.

18 Priory Road, Knowle BS4 2NL Loft conversion with rear dormer. Granted

Windmill Hill ward: Awaiting decision 32-38 St John’s Lane BS3 5AD Details in relation to conditions 4 (Contamination), 5 (Remediation scheme), 6 (Implementation remediation scheme), 7 (SUDS), 8 (Construction management plan), 9 (Samples), 10 (Noise) and 11 (Further details) of permission 17/00764/P: demolition of garage and erection of three 4-bedroom dwellings and six 3-bedroom homes.

50 Daventry Road BS4 1DQ Two storey rear extension, porch; render to all external walls. Granted subject to conditions

274 Redcatch Road BS3 5DT Details in relation to condition 2 (List of drawings) of permission 18/01254/H: Single storey rear and side extension.

418 Wells Road, Knowle BS14 9AF Single storey rear extension and single storey side extension, following demolition of side garage. Granted

5 Haverstock Road BS4 2DA Single storey rear extension to extend beyond the rear by 4m, of maximum height 3.5m with eaves a maximum 2.8m.

52 Quantock Road BS3 4PE Single storey rear extension to extend beyond the rear by 6m, of maximum height 3.48m with eaves 2.96m high. Refused

4 St Agnes Gardens BS4 2DQ Two storey side and single storey rear extension. Granted subject to conditions

Land and Garage to northeast of Monmouth Street Demolition of garage and erection of one-bedroom semidetached house with integrated waste/recycling store, courtyard.

32 Knowle Road BS4 2ED Demolition of conservatory and replacement with balcony and stairs to garden level. Refused

115 Queenshill Road BS4 2XG Single storey rear extension to extend beyond the rear wall by 6 metres, of maximum height 2.8 metres with eaves 2.6 metres high. Granted

InLink outside Cash Converters, Wells Road, Knowle Erection of freestanding InLink terminal providing

Need more space?

10 Upper Street BS4 3BU Single storey rear conservatory

362 St John’s Lane BS3 5BA Retention of raised timber passageway from first floor door providing access via steps down to garden, plus timber barrier, trellis and storage area below.

Windmill Hill ward: Decided 4 Stanbury Road BS3 4QG Single storey rear extension to extend beyond the rear by 6.0m, of maximum height 3.25m with eaves a maximum of 3m.

Refused 86 Dunkerry Road BS3 4LA Rear L-shaped roof extension.

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southbristolvoice

n THE MAYOR

MARVIN REES Mayor of Bristol

I want this city to inspire a new generation to take up sport

I

WANT to kick off by wishing the England football team great success in the Russian World Cup. Hopefully they will do well, although they might be on the plane home by the time you read this!

Sport is a key priority for me, particularly as it made such an impact on my own development as a youth. I want to improve Bristol’s sporting offer and make it accessible to all. We’re aiming to do this in three ways: improving elite talent pathways for Bristolians, bringing world-class sporting events to the city, and increasing participation.

That’s why I was so pleased to support the launch of Bristol’s Sporting Hall of Fame at Ashton Gate stadium. Over 70 nominations were uploaded to tinyurl.com/bristolhalloffame including community heroes, young hopefuls,

29

stars who compete at an international level and those who achieve against the odds.

Amongst those mentioned are some of Bristol’s biggest sporting names like former world champion boxer Lee Haskins, three-time ironman world champion Chrissie Wellington and Olympic gymnast Claudia Fragapane. They represent some of the best of our city and their stories will hopefully inspire a whole new generation to get involved in sport.

It’s great that Bristol’s Sporting Hall of Fame will celebrate the city’s many sporting inspirations, and I congratulate everyone who has been recognised as part of it.

There are two other awards I want to

mention. They are the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) South West Sustainability Award and a RIBA South West 2018 accolade, both given to a new project called Challender Court in Henbury. This Bristol city council housing development was recognised for the sustainability of the eight one-bed properties.

I have a commitment to build 2,000 new homes – 800 affordable – a year by 2020. As part of this, we are not just looking at numbers, but also the quality of housing and communities we create. Challender Court is designed to meet the Passivhaus building standard, which aims to reduce energy usage.

This will result in extremely energy-efficient properties which will see household utility bills dramatically reduced.

We have completed 81 new homes since the start of the New Build Housing Programme, regenerating brownfield sites to provide high-quality homes across Bristol.

Four sites are under construction, providing a further 64 new homes. We have also gained consent for 133 new homes at Ashton Vale, 53 of which will be council homes.

We have really started to see progress on meeting this challenge and I would like to thank our housing team, along with the contractors and architects, for helping to provide much-needed housing for the city.

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

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

July 2018

southbristolvoice

30

n COLUMNS In witch I am not proud

T

HERE is a house on the market near me, a few quid shy of an eye-watering half a million pounds. I brought up the details online, oohing and ahhing my way through the vast amount of photos.

It was rather nice. They’ve gone up into the loft with a wall of windows taking in the panoramic view. I suppressed a sob and stroked the screen. I wanted that loft. All I have is a rather nice roof that only menfolk, who, stopping in the road gazing upwards, tell me how fabulous it is. But half a million?

That is craziness. A terrace house without off-street parking? Insane.

My house is not worth that much because I do not put the

Who is the Wicked Witch?

She’s the one making the furniture eat up her family

THE WICKED WITCH OF KNOWLE

effort in to make it super-dooper.

I’d rather go out. But I have been trying to get more house proud. A chap I work for popped round the other day. I opened the door and glared as he handed over a pile of paperwork, his eyes taking in the dusty staircase and crooked pictures. I followed his gaze, seeing my house through his eyes. It was not good. “I can feel my OCD coming into force,” he whimpered, nodding towards a skew-whiff painting. I grabbed the offending

n NEWS

picture, making it even more twisted, smiled and shut the door on his disbelieving face.

I am not great at this homemaking lark. A couple of years ago I got rid of our falling-to-bits three-piece suite, deciding to go green and retro; I would buy second-hand funky and tasteful furniture. A luscious but lumpy red leather sofa was acquired, uncomfortably gorgeous. It was soon joined by a spinning brown leather love seat, precariously carried home on the roof of my little Clio. This chair was deep, low and impossible to get out of without rolling onto the floor. The final addition was a vintage Parker Knoll rocking chair with a slightly ripped arm. I stood back and admired my purchases – a strange mish-mosh of eclectic madness.

Down on the Farm News from Windmill Hill City Farm with Beccy Golding

Taste Kefir culture

Here comes the sun: holiday activities • Woodland Tribe: July 21 & 22, 10am-12pm, 12-2pm & 2-4pm Taking the best ideas from adventure playgrounds around the world, children get to use hammers, nails and saws, build dens, be creative with natural materials and play freely with nature. Age: 6+, must be accompanied by an adult. Early bird tickets £8, on the day £10.

Himself walked in; wordlessly he sank onto the love seat and immediately disappeared. I slowly spun it round so I could not hear his cries of disbelief. He did not talk to me for a few days.

I have a friend (on the dark side of North Bristol), she is very house proud. When I visit, shoes must be removed at the door. At Christmas, there was a stack of Quality Street sweets filling a glass bowl in the pristine living room. Nothing wrong with that although they were perfectly placed and not one empty wrapper could be seen – just weird. This friend also spends a vast amount of time ironing! Mrs Proud was moaning to me the other day: “I’ve spent five hours ironing”. FIVE HOURS. Five hours of her life she will never get back.

Outrageous.

31

Wanted: 10 young people who seek an arts career

INVITATION

windmillhillcityfarm.org.uk

Stalling autumn Pour it out: Learn how to make kefir, the fermented milk that’s claimed to have health benefits Tickets include one adult and one child. Concessions available.

• Wood Water Fire: Wednesdays, August 1, 8, 15 & 22 10am-3pm Outdoor nature play drop-in sessions - make the most of the

T

he farm’s autumn fair is a massively popular event, with hundreds of people attending each year.

Held on September 29, 11am4pm, hopefully it will be one of those last few sunny days of summer. Would you like a stall? £25 for the day. Email info@ windmillhillcityfarm.org.uk for more information.

Personal Assistants/Carers wanted For young independent disabled lady in the Whitchurch area.

I require help with personal care, daily living including cooking and domestic tasks, and travel to appointments and social activities.

An interest in animals preferred.

Able to drive an automatic car; no more than 3 points on licence.

CJ Hole Southville invite you to accept our offer of a free sales or lettings valuation.

To arrange an appointment, please telephone the office or call in personally.

Pay: £10.00 per hour, paid four weekly.

Looking for someone who can work Monday evening, Wednesday morning, Saturday and Sunday. Some flexibility required – hours and holiday cover to be discussed at interview.

For an application form call WECIL Ltd on 0117 947 9911 and quote ref. BFW17785

southbristolvoice

great outdoors with the farm’s play team. £2 drop-in per child.

• Wild Outdoors Club: Thursdays, August 2, 9, 16 & 23, 10am to 12noon These very popular sessions are back, with cool crafts, fun nature activities, and great games galore. Age: 6 to 9 years, £10 per child per session.

Book online.

K

EFIR is a type of cultured milk that’s meant to have loads of health benefits.

Fermented foods and kefir have been increasing in popularity recently and have even featured on the Archers! On Sunday July 3, from 10am-12noon, the farm is holding a kefir-making workshop with Dr Caroline Gilmartin, with a whistle-stop tour of the ancient roots of fermentation before learning how to make it, and preparing your own kefirs to ferment at home. You’ll also get to do some tastings and look at ways to incorporate kefir into your cooking. Cost: £25 (+£1.79 booking fee), includes all jars and kefir grains, and water and milk kefirs to take home.

July 2018

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July 2018

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32

n YOUR COUNCILLORS

W

HEN the previous mayor came to power he was fixated on delivering the arena at Gary Temple Meads.

Hopkins He inherited a site Lib Dem in the enterprise Knowle zone, with land assembled and obstacles removed. When he was standing for re-election, the line from his supporters was “at least he delivered the arena”.

Well, he did not, but he is now saying that he should have given the final sign off before leaving office. Frankly, there must have been unresolved problems or he would have done that with a great fanfare.

The present mayor promised to deliver the arena but really seems never to have been genuinely committed to doing so.

The report commissioned by the mayor pretends to offer a better value-for-money site at Filton but the gaps (actually

Knowle

How to contact your councillor: p2

A

gaping holes) between the S MANY A special mention must be suggestions and delivery would people may made of the Friends of Redcatch take a lot of time and public be aware, Park for applying for additional money to resolve. the money outside funding from Lloyds Private company YTL are earmarked for the Bank and the Quartet demanding over £100 million of community from Community Foundation for new investment in transport, that the the sale of part play markings and exercise Chris Temple Meads scheme is frozen of Salcombe Road equipment. This park has also Davies – and certainly will want massive recreation ground benefitted from a new pedestrian Lib Dem concessions on planning matters was withheld by access, requested by users, and Knowle in the future. No private sector the mayor, until financed through the generosity arena has ever been delivered in pressure for its use in South of a resident. Congratulations, the UK without public subsidy, Bristol was applied by both and thank you on behalf of and to pretend that this one will Knowle councillors. everyone in the community of be, is dishonest. There are We are happy to report this Knowle. masses of unresolved questions unique funding (the only scheme We have tried to progress and I will be asking them. of its kind in Bristol) has been works on the planned scheme to I am glad to say that Colston agreed through the neighbourhood make Woodbridge Road one-way hall has been handled much partnership (now abolished) for a and install a speed ramp nearby better. The outdated building much-needed enlarged and on Redcatch Road, which is long was handed to Bristol Music improved car park for Redcatch overdue. Sadly there is now Trust before we had a mayor, and Park with dedicated disabled insufficient funding left over for the first stage of the revamp was spaces and a safer pedestrian highways work following the done to give the trust a chance. I access. improvements made at Axbridge was part of the cross-party group Also, and most important, Road and Ilminster Avenue, so that shamed the previous mayor there will be a new playground regretfully we will have to wait into backing the rebuild. The and landscaping for Salcombe for our 15 per cent share of local two-year revamp will give the city Road recreation grounds. This CIL (Community Infrastructure a great new facility, with millions has also been agreed and we will Levy, the name given to funds of pounds coming from Lottery be consulting residents on their from developers) to complete this Right at Home is one ofequipment the most Right atUK’s Home is one of the UK’s mostessential work. and private donations. play preferences. trusted care companies.

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July 2018

southbristolvoice

n YOUR COUNCILLORS

I

N EARLY 2016, when I was campaigning for election, the mayor’s manifesto was Jon released, detailing Wellington what he would do Labour if elected. I stood Windmill Hill on this platform as a member of the same party, and of course I agreed with most of the proposals.

The main one that I did not agree with was the review of the 20mph speed limit that had been introduced to many of Bristol’s roads under the previous administration. A lot of people asked me about this when I was out on the doorsteps asking people to vote for me, and some awkward conversations followed as I had to justify a policy I felt was wrong. I explained that the policy was to review the 20mph speed limits, not to change them.

So, to keep the manifesto promise here we are – the council is reviewing the 20mph

Windmill Hill

speed limits on some roads across the city and the consultation is under way.

I understand that this is a topic about which many people have strong views, and perhaps there are roads here and there across the city where 20mph is unsuitable. However, in our own ward, there is absolutely no way I will support a change to the speed limit on any of our roads, including the main routes.

You can find details of the consultation on the council’s website, copies are in libraries, or contact me. In truth, the terms of the consultation make it very difficult for any change to happen, as they require that people provide evidence that raising a speed limit would make the road in question safer.

However, I would like local people to send a strong message that we want people in Totterdown and Windmill Hill to drive more slowly and with more care and consideration, and not reverse a progressive policy that makes our roads and streets safer.

T

33

How to contact your councillor: p2

HE independent auditors report for the arena states that a city centre venue will cost almost Lucy £200 million. This Whittle is £65m more than Labour expected. Despite Windmill Hill this, at the time of writing, the venue decision has not yet been made, and I would still like to see if it’s possible to have the arena at Temple Meads, in order to bring the economic benefits to the south of the city.

The auditors also claim the Arena Island site could make more money if it were used for other ventures. The assessment states a conference centre and housing on the site will deliver more than three times as many full-time jobs and almost three times as much money into the economy over the next 25 years compared to a concert venue.

I was very pleased to see the 4,500-strong petition that was presented to Bristol city council

signed by residents who want the venue to remain beside Temple Meads. And I voted for it to be sited in the city centre, but at the time I knew it was an advisory vote; we were letting the mayor know what our constituents would prefer on the available evidence. If a better plan for the area was put forward, that brought more jobs and investment, I could be persuaded that it would be a preferable option for South Bristol.

The reports have now been sent off to the council’s scrutiny committee to be pored over and assessed. And we shall see what they recommend after going through the detail of the reports.

I have yet to be persuaded on the benefits of an alternative project, but if we are successful at keeping the arena at Arena Island, I want a beautiful, well-designed, well-planned, environmentally sustainable and sustainably costed arena, not a vanity project at any price.

Especially if that price bankrupts the city.

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Standard single or pair of mirrored Wills £99 Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk

July 2018

southbristolvoice

34

BRISTOL ARC UPDATE

From Bristol Animal Rescue Centre

Dive in at the deep end and help support our work

W

E ARE delighted to be working together with Newfoundland Friends to offer the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of experiencing first-hand the extreme power, strength and gentle nature of a Newfoundland rescue dog!

On Saturday September 15 we will be at Portishead Marina with the fantastic Newfoundland Friends, raising money for the thousands of animals that pass through our doors every year.

We’re inviting people to raise sponsorship from their family and friends in order to be ‘rescued’.

If you’d like to take part, you will be taken out by boat into the marina, you will jump in the water and then be saved by one of the amazing Newfoundland dogs who will show off their incredible water-rescue skills.

The event is from 10am-4pm on September 15. Your experience will last up to an hour, and you will receive your

Win a e Composit r o Do ze Pri w r Da

Your chance to get ‘rescued’ from the water by a real canine lifesaver

allocated time slot a few weeks before the day.

Secure your place today: registration costs only £30 and we ask for £100 minimum fundraising, although people often raise far more than this!

What’s included?

Childr en Game ’s s

Lifesaver: Newfoundlands can be trained to pull people from the water • Fundraising pack • Full support on the day by Bristol ARC and Newfoundland Friends • Professional photos taken on the day • Wetsuit provided

• Get up close and personal with the amazing Newfoundland water rescue dogs.

To secure your place on this incredible day please send an email to grace@bristolarc.org.uk. bristolarc.org.uk

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July 2018

n HISTORY

southbristolvoice

35

A TALE OF THE BLITZ

Lynton Road was a deadly place to live – but I don’t remember anyone leaving Continuing our occasional series on the Blitz in South Bristol, we find out how the Marksbury Road area was pummelled again and again by German bombers – and how one teenager learned to grow up fast

T

O SEE one workplace destroyed might be thought unfortunate. To lose a second could just be coincidence.

To lose four, as Oscar Wilde almost said, looks downright suspicious – unless of course the country happens to be at war.

Vic Heybyrne was 14 when the bombs started falling on Bristol in 1940 – part of the Blitz that lasted on and off until 1942.

A trainee motor engineer, he saw four of the workshops where he was trying to learn his trade destroyed or put out of action by the Luftwaffe.

But of course, like every other Bristolian who stayed in the city during the Blitz, he saw far worse – not only wholesale destruction of the city centre and of hundreds of homes, but death and injury all around him.

Vic, doesn’t remember any of the despondency or panic which is mentioned in some accounts of the Home Front in Bristol – just a tight-knit community that was determined to show a brave face, and just get on with life – and winning the war. What follows is based on his written recollections and an interview with the Voice.

We also include the memories of Kathleen Braywood, who also remembers the Bedminster Blitz.

T

he German air force, the Luftwaffe, was trying to damage the city so badly it could make no contribution to the war. The motor workshops of South Bristol were not high on its list of targets. It was aiming for

Devastated: Almorah Road, hit by a huge landmine in 1942 the city’s industrial and transport hubs – the harbour, Temple Meads station and high-value targets like gasworks, which if hit would cause widespread damage.

This put South Bristol in the firing line. Other districts close to the city centre were hit too, but the south was an easy target – it was close to the River Avon, which was used as a navigation aid by the German pilots.

The weapons dropped by the Luftwaffe were designed to cause widespread destruction. Large bombs weighing 250kg (550lb) or more used high explosive to blow buildings apart.

Hundreds of small incendiary bombs were often dropped at the same time. The 1kg (2.2lb) Elektron bomb set itself on fire on impact, blazing hot enough to melt steel. If one of these lodged in the roof of a house it would burn it down. But the slow-burn action could be a lifeline to those on the ground, as we will see.

Vic Heybyrne was born in

PHOTO: Facey Collection, Bristol Archives 41969/1/46

Redcliffe in May 1926. His roots were very local: his mother’s family were from Redcliffe and his father’s from St John’s Lane.

The area around St Mary Redcliffe is now known mainly for the views of its elegant church, but until World War 2 its

tightly-packed streets were full of homes that would now be classed as slums. “We had an outhouse with a boiler in it where my mother would make the best Christmas pudding,” he said.

But the whole area was Continued overleaf

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Now they can subscribe, and get every issue delivered by post!

It costs £30 per year for 12 issues to a UK address: to find out more, email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk • South Bristol Voice prints 19,550 copies each month in two editions: Totterdown, Knowle & Windmill Hill and Bedminster, Southville & Ashton. If you have a query about delivery, email the above address.

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

July 2018

southbristolvoice

36

n HISTORY

ROCKET MAN

A TALE OF THE BLITZ

n HISTORY

fearsome reputation. For one thing, Vic says, the soldiers wore no ear defenders or safety protection.

“The biggest fright I had in the war was waiting in a queue to fire this thing. When you fired it, by pressing a button, there was no brake in the system so it would shake the whole platform and the flames would singe your uniform!

“The twin rocket projectors we used later had a lever and a brake which held it in position. It was

rumoured later that when the Americans did a practice on this thing, half of them ran away!”

Whitchurch Lane was one of two rocket sites defending Bristol.

There were meant to be five, but the others were never built.

“There were 64 projectors on site with two rockets each, each with 4lb of TNT. The timers were set in the nose cone and the aim was to have all the rockets explode in a mile-wide cube in the air.” This was meant to destroy any plane in the affected airspace.

The Bristol rockets were only fired once – but Vic believes that they had an effect. The barrage deterred the bombers from approaching Bristol, and the raid switched to Bath, he says, with one aircraft being brought down.

Bristol historian John Penn, however, believes that the target on April 25, 1942, was always meant to be Bath, which was undefended by anti-aircraft guns.

Penny says bad navigation brought some of the bombers over Brislington, where their bombs killed 18 people and injured 14.

Continued from page 35 rat-infested. “We used to drown the rats in the boiler. The kitchen had a stone floor, the cupboards were nailed shut and we still caught a rat every time we put a gin trap down.

“We didn’t have cats as pets, we had cats to keep the rats away!” Vic told the Voice. When he was 10, the family had to move when Pile Street was widened to form Redcliffe Way. They were given a new council home in Lynton Road, part of the new estate being built around Marksbury Road, Bedminster.

“We moved from a ratinfested home into a council house and it was luxury,” Vic said. No matter that they still had a coal bunker in the kitchen, and the toilet was in the back porch.

“We still had a bath we had to fill by hand but it was luxury because the water was heated by gas.”

Young Vic was mechanicallyminded and found a job at age 14 working for Joseph Fish & Sons, a transport company and garage owner. But his first workplace was to last no longer than the first major air raid on Bristol. On Sunday November 24, 1940, the Luftwaffe sent 148 bombers to the city. With the RAF still learning how to intercept bombers at night, and Bristol woefully undersupplied with anti-aircraft

guns, the raiders were able to drop their bombs almost unhindered for four hours.

This first major raid was also the most destructive. The central shopping area, clustered on medieval streets around what is now Castle Park, was almost completely destroyed. More than 200 people were killed and 890 injured. About 10,000 homes were damaged, and 1,400 people made homeless.

Vic was one of the luckier victims: all he lost was the garage where he worked in Victoria Street.

He transferred to a sister garage, Fish & Mullets on Coronation Road (sited where the Asda car park is today).

When he worked on the car belonging to the manager of the Bedminster Hippodrome cinema, known as the Stoll, his reward was free tickets [see panel, p38].

A few weeks later, enjoying this free perk was to lead him closer into danger. On January 3, 1941, an air raid siren interrupted Vic’s enjoyment of a film, Tom Brown’s Schooldays.

“I spent the remainder of the evening in a Little Paradise Street shelter,” recalled Vic. “On leaving the shelter and walking back down East Street, I saw the remains of the Stoll and other damage, the apples and

vegetables strewn across the pavement of a shop opposite the old library – and also the destruction of my second workplace on Coronation Road.”

It was the end for the Stoll – though it hadn’t been flattened it was damaged too badly to be used again, and it was demolished after the war.

Vic’s garage had also been put out of action, and he was sent to a third Fish’s workshop, at Pennywell Road in Easton, by the side of the River Frome. But this was soon flattened in another raid. “I could see the fish unconscious or dead floating down the river, masses of them”, said Vic. This time Vic found a new job, at the Bristol Motor Co, which had a prominent art deco showroom in Winterstoke Road.

“However, celebrating this by visiting the Ambassador cinema in Winterstoke Road that very evening was quickly curtailed by an air raid warning and, on leaving the cinema, observing that Bristol Motor Co was ablaze!

Needless to say I needed to seek other employment!”

Vic then found the post that would last him the rest of the war, at Auto Engine Services at Glasshouse Lane, off Feeder Road in St Philip’s.

Vic’s developing skills as a motor engineer meant that, though he was promised he would be called up for war service, he never was.

“I had three medicals and at the first one they said you will be in the Marines by such and such a date – and then they said you have to stay and work,” he said.

In the end he stayed at Auto Engine Services until he became fed up of being paid a boy’s wages. After a row with the boss, he went back to Fish & Mullets in 1946, until a short time later when he got his call-up papers.

Ready, take aim, fire: A ZTT rocket projector, similar to those used in Bristol

W

HNEN Vic Heybyrne turned 16 he was excused the call-up, as mechanics were vital to the war effort.

But he was expected to do his bit by joining the Home Guard. At his group’s first meeting in Winterstoke Road, “this sergeant asked if anyone did any fishing.” Vic put his hand up. “You are used to working with nets, so you can put the camouflage up!” he was told.

“That taught me a lesson.”

Vic’s platoon crewed an anti-aircraft rocket battery in Whitchurch Lane, on duty one night in five.

“We would stand there all night, sometimes with our hobnail boots frozen to the ground. We were discharged at 4am and always given pilchards for breakfast. I would sit at home for an hour in my uniform, then it was time to go to work!” he recalled.

Vic’s mechanical training gave him an advantage working with the ZTT rockets, which were six feet (2m) long.

“My No 2 on the rocket

PHOTO: Imperial War Museum

projector was [garage colleague] Fred Mollison. The rockets had a meter on the nose to set the range.

“We had a competition with the regular soldiers, and Fred and I were selected as the team that had to simulate a misfire. We beat the regulars because we were young lads and used to using micrometers.”

Vic’s father, a sergeant in the Home Guard, was watching and was very proud.

But the early rockets had a

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July 2018

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NIGHTS ON THE TOWN

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HE GOVERNMENT ordered the closure of cinemas on the outbreak of war in 1939, fearing mass casualties if a bomb fell on one. But the order was soon lifted, because it was recognised that in wartime, entertainment was more important than ever.

As well as watching films, Vic enjoyed dancing and was a prizewinner at jitterbugging – the fast-paced American dance craze which swept the UK in the 1940s.

From 1942, Brits like Vic were

southbristolvoice

37

A TALE OF THE BLITZ

Ruined: Vic Heybyrne never started his job at the Bristol Motor Co in Ashton – the Luftwaffe got there first. Firefighters are on the left PHOTO: Facey Collection, Bristol Archives 41969/1/42

A

s if seeing one workplace after another destroyed wasn’t enough, Vic saw plenty of destruction around his home in Lynton Road.

The first raid to affect the Heybyrne family was a devastating attack on the BAC aircraft works at Filton, on September 25, 1940, where Vic’s father worked. Six bomb shelters were hit and 91 BAC staff killed.

“My father was in one of the bombed shelters and, although not physically harmed, I recall him suffering some sort of post traumatic shock 12 months later,” Vic said.

“Two days later, when the second raid on the aircraft works was attempted, I was allowed outside to watch the dogfight that took place over the city.

Ironically, morale was boosted and all cheered at the sight of aircraft falling, not really knowing whether they were friend or foe!”

In fact, Vic and his mates had good reason to cheer. The Luftwaffe had attacked in daylight but were intercepted

over Bristol by the Hurricane pilots of 504 Squadron, who had made Filton its base only the previous day. The RAF routed the raiders, who were forced to jettison their bombs before reaching the aircraft plant. Ten of the 52 Messerschmidt 110s which formed the raid were shot down.

This was an unsustainable rate of loss, and the daylight raids were abandoned.

“This boost to morale was short-lived, however,” said Vic. Weeks later came the “Sunday night Blitz” referred to above, when his Victoria Street workplace was destroyed along with much of the city centre.

“The following morning, I remember the scene of despondent fellow workmates, watching firemen in freezing conditions frantically trying to quell fires still raging and the numerous hoses interlaced across the road with icicles hanging from leaking points.

“My own recollections of this fateful evening include viewing, with three other lads, the flares lighting up the city centre from

the back door of the Marksbury Lads Club in Wedmore Vale. We spent the rest of the evening in the underground air raid shelter at the triangular green close by, singing songs, trying to cheer up the other occupants.”

Somehow the reality of what was happening had not quite sunk in for Vic. He recalled: “Undisturbed and walking along Marksbury Road the following morning, I was shaken into some reality by the sight of bomb craters, particularly a large one filled with muddy water blocking the entry to Lynton Road.”

And on reaching home, there was more news to shake Vic: “I was further alarmed to learn my mother had spent the whole night in the Anderson shelter on a wooden chair with my younger brother on her lap, in water up to her knees, and feeling concerned about my whereabouts!”

The bomb crater damaged the water and gas supply – there was no fresh water for a couple of days and no gas for two weeks.

“The locals had to improvise Continued overleaf

competing with US servicemen who were stationed in Bristol, many of them billeted at White City, the former exhibition centre at Ashton Vale.

“I was the jitterbugging champion of Bristol and West in 1943 – that kept me fit,” he said.

With so many Americans in town, and few young British men, as so many had been called up, Vic found he was popular with the ladies. “I was a jitterbugging fiend, I was 17, lucky not to be in the army, and all the girls had the option of a British lad or the Yanks.”

Like many others, he was shocked to see that the US services were segregated – black soldiers were separated from white ones, and the black men got heavy treatment from their own military police, or MPs. “The only place you could dance on a Sunday was the basement below the Council House. It was a British Restaurant [a wartime subsidised café, which in Bristol featured live music].

“It was 3d a time [58p in today’s money] and the Yanks used to go in there. You would have fights,

and those white MPs would go in with their truncheons.”

But there was dancing to be had closer to home, too: “We used to go to dances in the Wills staff hall, where Asda car park is now, the Raleigh Road Co-op, and the Wells Road YMCA. It was all dance halls round Bedminster.”

Dancing was always to live music and Vic remembers some of the bands – “We were well away with Jimmy Dunsford and his band, he was one of the best, he played the Wills on a Saturday and Raleigh Road on a Monday.”

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

July 2018

southbristolvoice

38

n HISTORY

A TALE OF THE BLITZ

ome incidents were both alarming and amusing. On the evening of the Good Friday raid, on April 11, 1941, Vic was near the back door of his house, 78 Lynton Road.

“I was standing with another lad, Albert Mills, and boasting that you could tell by the sound of the engines that the aircraft above was a Bristol Beaufighter.

The inaccuracy of this remark was exposed by the sound of a falling bomb and the two of us attempting to dash back into the archway, colliding with my father whose theory was, ‘out of the arch to avoid the blast and back

in to avoid the falling shrapnel’.

My tin hat struck him under the chin and he swallowed his false teeth, but despite him nearly choking, he managed to push us out and drag us back into shelter.

Something to smile about!

“Other tales of that night include the story of Mr Hardwell, saved by a visit to the toilet and left with the chain in his hand as he pulled the flush when the rest of the house was destroyed.”

Also flattened were the adjacent and opposite houses, including the home of relations at 33 Lynton Road.

Further up the road Vic found

another comical picture – next to another scene of destruction.

“Searching for my Aunt Floss and young cousins (Uncle Bert Simmonds was away in the army), I found them in a neighbour’s Anderson shelter with two other families, all blocked from view by a Mrs Campbell, who was stuck fast sat on the step, halfway in the door, with only her large rear end protruding outside, miraculously not damaged despite the nearby bomb explosions! Exploring the destruction, I discovered my uncle’s dog cowered under a bath in the debris, safe and well. But

Central Clinic, Bedminster.

• 194 Marksbury Road Raymond Frederick Sanders, 2, of 19 Vale Lane, Bedminster, son of Frederick Thomas and Violet May Sanders.

• 196 Marksbury Road Margaret Lilian Matthews, 15 months, daughter of Mr and Mrs IJ Matthews.

• Gasometer, Marksbury Road Ernest Charles Thomas, 40, of 198 Marksbury Road, husband of Ivy Thomas; Jack Keith Thomas, 12, of 198 Marksbury Road, son.

• Martock Road shelter Charles William Davis, 82, of 29 Martock Road. Died 25/11/40 at Bristol General Hospital.

• 12 Timsbury Road William Lidbury, 63, of 13 Aylesbury Road, Bedminster, husband of Rose Edith Lidbury.

• Wedmore Vale Frederick Richard Broomsgrove, 59, of 56 Wedmore Vale, husband of Eda Broomsgrove.

January 3/4, 1941 • 9 Glyn Vale Franklin Charles Gale, 37, father of Edward Charles Gale, 13, John Franklin Gale, 15.

• 11 Glyn Vale Frances Patricia Stoneham, 44, wife of James Price Stoneham; Michael John Stoneham, 7, son; Pamela Dorothy Stoneham, 16, daughter.

March 16/17, 1941 • Pennywell Road Frederick George

Buss, 57, firewatcher, of 62 Pennywell Road. Husband of Louisa Emily Buss.

April 11/12, 1941 • Martock Road shelter Lily M Daveridge, 40, of 60 York Street, St Philip’s, wife of Sidney Baden Powell Daveridge.

• 45 Martock Road Samuel J Jones; Alice Searle, 75; James Searle, 65, husband.

• 57 Marksbury Road Florence Florina Carpenter 24, wife of Stanley Robert Carpenter; Robert Neil Carpenter, 2, son; Henrietta Dyson, 58, wife of AH Dyson.

• 63 Marksbury Road Worthy Charles Horseman, 36,

firewatcher, husband of Rose Florence Horseman.

• 21 Haldon Close William Henry Ayton, 73, of 22 Haldon Close, husband of Ada E Ayton.

• 48 Lynton Road Gertrude Ellen Millard, 63, widow of George Kempton Millard; Grace Alexandra Millard, 44, daughter.

• 50 Lynton Road Edna Joyce Challenger, 19, daughter of Jim T Challenger; Florence Elizabeth Challenger, 47, wife of J J Challenger; Iris Challenger, 18 months, daughter of AG Challenger; Joan Challenger, 4, daughter of AG Challenger.

• 61 St Dunstan’s Road Florence

I

Continued from page 37 by boiling muddy water and cooking by other means, such as the fire hob,” recalled Vic. “The problem of cooking the Sunday joint was overcome by taking the meat tin to the baker, Dewfalls on the corner of Cotswold and Brendon roads, and as the result of collecting two tins with hot meat, our own plus another as a favour to a Mrs Sheppard, I had the mishap of spilling warm fat down my Sunday suit. This lady then spent an hour after dinner removing the fat by pressing the suit using a hot iron and brown paper.”

BLITZ DEATHS, BRISTOL 1940-1942 Marksbury Road area, and other places mentioned in the text November 24/25, 1940 • 15 Doveton Street, Bedminster Frederick James Andrew Williams, 22, Son of Mr and Mrs F Williams of 7 Lynton Road, Bedminster, and Gladys Ivy Williams, 21, wife of Frederick Williams.

• 1 Glyn Vale Violet Elizabeth Fullgrave, 30, daughter of Pauline Mary Adams of 8 Kinvara Road, Filwood Park, Knowle, wife of John Fullgrave. Died 25/11/40 at the

n HISTORY next door at No 31 Mr Summers was buried and severely injured.”

Vic was about to cheat death once more. He was with his father and family friend Tom Hill under Tom’s front porch when they heard the a bomb falling.

“We decided to duck around the side of the house. The bomb destroyed the porch and landed in the front garden less than 10 yards away, but we all escaped injury because it failed to explode!” Tom and his wife later had to move out of the house and they spent a couple of weeks with the Heybyrnes until the unexploded bomb was removed.

Ironically, Vic’s mother and younger brother had been staying with the Hills, to avoid the thick smoke from a blazing gas main in the middle of Marksbury Road.

Vic alerted his father and Tom Hill to the plight of Mr Summers, still buried in the wreckage of No 31. “I was despatched to get help at the First Action depot in Malago Road. Running along Marksbury Road, there was a stick of bombs falling and I was in between them. I dived into a privet hedge, as if that would do me any good!”

Perhaps in a sense of denial about how close he had come to death, Vic remembers clearly his arrival at the depot and starting to report the situation, amused to see the civil defence volunteers hiding under the tables. But the dangers weren’t over.

“Returning to Lynton Road, my luck continued when passing the Engineer’s Arms [on St John’s Lane – now the Brunel] I waved to the landlord, George Wagstaff, and companion, just as a bomb fell. Unknown to me at the time, it severely injured George and killed the other person.

Although blown off my feet, my

PERKS OF THE JOB N THE DAYS of petrol rationing, Vic found that his job on the hand-wound petrol pumps at Joseph Fish & Sons gave him the chance to do some customers a valuable favour.

He said: “I was just 14 when I worked at the petrol pumps in Victoria Street and I was so small I used to stand on sandbags to wind the handle on the pump! It was easy to wangle the readings on the pump to give them extra petrol on their coupons. I was also friendly with a Lloyds bank manager and a tobacconist on Victoria Street – I had the best cigarette case and lighter you could have!”

A later job at Coronation Road led to Vic servicing a car belonging to the manager of the Bedminster Hippodrome – the grand 2,156-seat cinema in East Street, standing next to the former tobacco offices on East Street, at the corner of now-pedestrianised Lombard Street. Vic had a free pass to any show – and he was present at the last film shown in the building, as our story relates.

July 2018

Grand show: The Bedminster Hippodrome, on the corner of East Street and Lombard Street, in 1922. It was built as a variety theatre in 1911 to a design by noted architect Bertie Crewe. There was seating in stalls, dress circle and balcony. But it struggled against the new feature films and was bought by the Stoll cinema empire in 1915. Variety acts played there until the 1930s.

PHOTO: Bristol Archives 43207/9/13/42

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southbristolvoice

39

A TALE OF THE BLITZ

Before the war: Vic, far left in the middle row, played rugby for Redcliffe school’s U14 team. Val Sidoli, fifth from left, middle row, lived in Redcliffe until he died in April. Captain Edgar Neal, centre, lives in Southmead. only damage was a large dent in the fire-watching tin hat I was wearing and I carried on unconcerned, arriving back to see Mr Summers rescued by a group of neighbours, including my father, well before the presence of any civil defence personnel.

“Mr Summers subsequently recovered in hospital and, together with his family, was re-housed in St John’s Crescent.

George Wagstaff also recovered.

“Tragic events sadly remembered of the same raid include the Anderson shelter at No 56 receiving a direct hit and killing two women.” Even more poignant is the story of “a young mother, her sister and two daughters from No 58, forced by the husband to take shelter.”

They were running down the

garden path towards their air raid shelter when a bomb dropped and killed all three. The husband remained unharmed in the house.

“Another tragedy that remains vivid in the memory was the destruction of one of the two gasometers in Marksbury Road and the cooling water from its lining enveloping the adjacent gardens and drowning a family of seven and others trapped in their Anderson shelters.

“The devastation of the locality was obvious the following day, seeing huge holes through the sides of houses, caused by large water pipes blown out of the ground and littering the area.”

Vic also remembers the impact of other raids on the centre of Bedminster, where

many more bombs fell (a story we’ll cover another time).

“Equally devastating and perhaps remembered by most of the older readers for its effect on the Bedminster community, was an isolated raid on June 11, 1941, when a single bomber dropped two land mines, one causing severe damage in Almorah Road, Windmill Hill and the other destroying a large proportion of property in Willway Street, Bedminster. In addition to the casualties, it was stated that seven firewatchers were killed running towards the parachute of the latter, under the impression that it was a flyer bailing out!”

During yet another raid Vic and his friend Stan Dagger performed an act of heroism Continued overleaf

Ellen Joyce, 57; Harold Ernest Joyce, 57, husband.

• 36 Wedmore Vale Mary Jane Welch, 82, widow of J Welch, died 15/4/41 at Southmead Hospital.

• 2 Bedminster Road Mary Jane Long, 68; Richard Long, 68, husband.

June 11/12, 1941 • Willway Street Herbert Alfred Hutton, 74, of 5 Willway Street.

• 5 Willway Street Alice Gertrude Webster, 47, wife of Frederick James Webster; Lilian Mary Webster, 16, daughter.

• 6 Willway Street Reginald Thomas Alden, 36, husband of Leah Alden.

• 8 Willway Street John Gillett, 67,

of 25 Littleton Road, Bedminster.

• Balloon Barrage site 51/12, Victoria Park Aircraftsman Duncan McDonnell, 997865, No 951 (BB) Sq RAF, of St John’s Lane, Bedminster and 15 Tark Street, Nairn, Scotland. Died 12/6/41 at Bristol Royal Infirmary.

• 10 Almorah Road Arthur Edgar Walks, 49; Minnie Walks, 49, wife.

13 Almorah Road Ivy Mary Jordan, 28, wife of Alfred Jordan; Terence George Jordan, 7, son.

• 15 Almorah Road Florence Glendinning, Harry Gendinning, 61, fire guard, 58, husband; Doris Nellie Glendinning, 16, daughter; Harry Edwin Glendinning, 18, fire

guard, son; Kathleen Joyce Glendinning, 19, daughter.

• 19 Almorah Road Nita Chapple, 4, daughter of Cyril and Gwendoline Chapple.

• From the register of those who died in the Bristol Blitz compiled by John Penny at fishponds.org.uk No comprehensive war memorial exists to commemorate those who lost their lives during German air attacks on the Bristol area. Many civilians are buried in mass graves at Greenbank cemetery.

This is believed the be the most accurate list compiled, though it does not always tally with our story.

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

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Lychgate didn’t want to join BAC because 7 24766 he thought aircraft work would (5) Man-sized dry up. But by 1953 he became Quick fix 9 355 (3) convinced BAC were not going out of business. He worked on (6) Whitecap 11 264672 the Pegasus and the Perseus aero 9 letter words engines and retired in 1983 from Down what had become Rolls Royce.

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like comradeship. What you saw was groups of men standing near their houses, on lookout.”

Some families in South Bristol, especially those few with a car, would decamp each night to villages in the Chew Valley, where they would rent rooms.

But not in Lynton Road – Vic only remembers one man who used to leave the estate, for the relative safety of Novers Lane.

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used to be so well bonded,” he said, that they never even left the housing estate during raids.

“For boys of my age it was bravado – you feel that you have got to set an example, as if it wasn’t going to get you down.

“What surprises me is that you read articles and heard stories that people were panicking during the raids, but I never knew of any panic on the estates. It was more

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became the refuge for some of those bombed out of their homes, including Vic’s aunt and cousins.

“Families slept huddled together on the hall floor, ably cared for by volunteers. My aunt and family were subsequently re-housed at No 54 Lynton Road, and the Hardwells in Dawlish Road.

After the war was over for most, Vic was sent on National Service to Palestine, soon to become Israel. Afterwards he became an engineer: at first he

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above, the small Elektron bombs were designed to burn fiercely without exploding – but it wasn’t to be long before the Germans inserted an explosive charge too.

In the meantime though, the incendiaries could sometimes be defeated, as Vic noted: “The only damage that night was a fire in the attic of Tom Stevens – one of the group that came running – and he and his son managed to extinguish it with a stirrup pump.”

The Marksbury Lads Club

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terrible damage wrought around him, in West Street and other parts of Bedminster.

One terrible scene was the devastation of Palmyra Road.

Kathleen remembers hearing of rescuers arriving to find a pile of rubble where a house had stood and being told, “There are six people under that.” All six were rescued.

In early 1943, when the threat of air raids seemed past, Kathleen

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cottage to themselves – before long more members of the family came to escape the devastation of the Good Friday raids on Bristol in April 1941. Two more aunts, three cousins and Kathleen’s grandmother came to stay, leaving Kathleen sleeping on the floor.

They were to stay in Wales for two and half years. “We were safe and dad came to visit us every month,” said Kathleen. Her father kept the shop open despite the

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On parade: Kathleen Braywood (inset) pictured with her Girls Brigade pals being presented to Princess Margaret on a postwar visit to Bristol in 1949

Continued from page 39 when a stick of incendiary bombs dropped onto Lynton Road.

“Stan and I, alerted by flashes and the sound of popping through the blackout curtains, ran out, lifted a couple of manhole covers in the road and were kicking burning bombs down the holes as a group of men, including our fathers, came running frantically from the Engineers Arms!” he recalled. This was a brave thing to do – as noted

AMILIES were often split on whether to leave Bristol for safety from air raids. Many children, like Kathleen Braywood, were sent to relatives in Wales.

Many went to Somerset or Devon.

Others, like Vic Heybyrne’s family, stayed put. Vic attributes this to the strong community spirit. “The men in Lynton Road

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ATHLEEN Braywood, 85, also lived through the Blitz in Bedminster – though she was spared the sight of some of its horrors by being evacuated.

Kathleen lives in Churchlands Road, just around the corner from the house where she was born in Brighton Terrace. Sadly her husband, Maurice, passed away while this article was being written.

Her father, William Owen, kept a hardware shop in West Street, opposite the Argus fish and chip shop (which is still there on the corner of South Road).

Bristol had been peaceful for the first year of the war, but when the bombing started in November 1940, Bedminster immediately started taking punishment.

“People started to get their windows broken and Dad said to Mum, ‘Write to your Aunt Marianne and she will take you in’.”

Aunt Marianne was more than willing to provide a refuge, and soon the Owens – Mum and four daughters – were off to her home in Talgarth, Mid Wales.

Kathleen’s younger twin sisters, Gwen and Grace, stayed with their mother and aunt, while Kathleen, eight, and her older sister Margaret stayed with a neighbour.

The girls all went to Talgarth school. Soon enough the family were reunited – a cottage was found for them a mile or so away at Bronnlys. But they didn’t have the

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Continued overleaf

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

July 2018

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Friday June 29 n Funk, Fajitas & Margaritas SouthBank Club, Dean Lane, Southville. A night of Mexican food and music with a local funk duo, and more entertainment.

Includes two-course meal, one cocktail or drink. £25, 7.3011.30pm.

Facebook: SouthBank Club n Andy Christie Quartet El Rincon, North Street.

Instrumental quartet playing the lyrical jazz-inflected compositions of pianist Andrew Christie, with Sarah Moody on cello, Greg White on drums and Jon Short on bass. elrinconbar.com Saturday June 30 n FoodFireEarth supper WindmillHill City Farm, Philip Street, Bedminster.

The farm’s café and outdoor kitchen are taken over by food writer Genevieve Taylor and chef and cookery teacher Jo Ingleby for an evening of wood-fired cookery using produce from the farm and their own allotments.

There’s also a chance to see the the garden and farm animals.

Tickets £35, 7-11pm. windmillhillcityfarm.org.uk n Stand Up For The Weekend with Ivo Graham Comedy Box at the Hen & Chicken Studio, North Street.

Said to be “posher than a corgi working the tills at Waitrose,” (Chortle magazine), apologetic ex-Eton pupil Ivo Graham was the youngest ever winner of a new act contest at the Edinburgh Fringe. With Luke Toulson and Clint Edwards. £11, 7.45pm. thecomedybox.co.uk

WIN tickets to see top comics Wednesday July 18 – Friday 27 n Double Deckers Comedy WANT to see some of the top names in comedy performing their Edinburgh Fringe shows, without going to Scotland? The Comedy Box promotes an eight-day programme of stand-up from some of the top UK circuit performers at the refurbished Hen & Chicken Studio in Southville.

The Double Deckers comedy series features 16 top acts – two each night – including Abandoman, Lucy Porter, Glenn Wool, Paul Sinha, Alfie Brown, Tom Ward and Andrew Lawrence. It’s the Comedy Box’s eleventh year of producing Double Decker shows.

As many of the names are familiar from TV, booking is Sunday July 1 n Summer Flowers Tour Arnos Vale cemetery, Bath Road.

Join an experienced ecologist on a journey around the beautiful summer flowers that bloom in Arnos Vale. 11am-12.30pm, £5. arnosvale.org.uk/events Tuesday July 3 n Drink’n’Draw Tobacco Factory bar, North Street. All invited to draw, scribble, doodle, sketch and drink. Suggested donation of £3 to cover materials, but space is limited, so first come, first served, 7.459.45pm. tobaccofactory.com/whats-on Tuesday July 3 & Wednesday 4 n The Woman Next Door Acta theatre, Gladstone Street,

Unrivalled collection of photo swaps

Hillary Clinton at the Liberty Awards, held at the Nation Constitution Center, Philadelphia, 2013.

Until September 15 n Magnum Swaps: David Hurn’s Collection Martin Parr Gallery, Paintworks, Bath Road

this collection are on show at the Martin Parr Foundation, which can be found in Phase 3 of Paintworks – up the steps in the new area of the complex, to the right of the Victorian buildings.

It includes works by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Alec Soth, Elliott Erwitt and Newsha Tavakolian.

Admission free. martinparrfoundation.org/ exhibitions

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PHOTO: ©Christopher Anderson / Magnum Photos

AVID Hurn has made a request to every new fellow-member of the famous Magnum photographers’ co-operative – will you swap a print with me?

Over six decades he has built

up a vast and varied collection of more than 600 prints from some of the finest documentary photomakers on the planet. Highlights of

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n WHAT’S ON

n WHAT’S ON Thursday June 21 –Saturday June 30 n Welcome to Thebes Tobacco Factory theatre.

The students of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School present Moira Buffini’s Welcome to Thebes, which premiered at the National Theatre in June 2010 to critical acclaim. Faced with an impoverished population, a shattered infrastructure and a volatile army, the first democratic president of Thebes, Eurydice, promises peace to her nation.

Without the aid of Theseus, the leader of the vastly wealthy state of Athens, she doesn’t stand a chance. But Theseus is arrogant, mercurial and motivated by profit. A swaggering opposition circles, impatient for insurrection. Ages 14+, tickets £12 (limited availability), 7.30pm, matinees Thursday and Saturday 2.30pm, no show Sunday. tobaccofactorytheatres.com Wednesday June 27 n Jim Johnston + The Jesus Bolt + The Cormorants + Foulplay The Thunderbolt, Bath Road, Totterdown. Bristolbased songwriter & guitarist Jim Johnston launches his third album, Three-Dimensional Living. The Jesus Bolt are Hazel Winter and Gerard Starkie, formed to promote Hazel’s book of poetry, I’m Scared Of The Pig On The City Farm, due in July. The Cormorants are Ellen Morgan and Wolfgang Küchler, who “carry a flame for old school new wave songs”. Foulplay are an acoustic post-emo duo from Bristol. £5, 7.30-11.30pm. thethunderbolt.net

July 2018

Looking in: Lucy Porter recommended.

Tickets are £9, or £6 each if you book three shows. thecomedybox.co.uk WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS TO YOUR CHOICE OF DOUBLE DECKERS ...

We have three pairs of Double Deckers tickets to give away – and you can choose which of the eight shows you want to see if you can answer this question: • How many years has the Comedy Box been presenting Double Deckers shows?

Answers to paul@ southbristolvice.co.uk by July 13 or to 18 Lilymead Avenue, Bristol BS4 2BX. Include your name, address and phone number.

Bedminster. “Problems seem much bigger when you face them alone. Why not share them with the woman next door?”

An original show by the Stories theatre company of St Paul’s. A warm tale about getting to know your local community. 7pm, £3. acta-bristol.com Thursday July 5 n All People Deserve Dignity When They Die Arnos Vale cemetery, Bath Road. The first talk in a series called Alive In Conversation is given by retired US funeral director Ron Troyer, who urged funeral directors to study grief and bereavement counselling to become better at their jobs. He will be in conversation with his son, Dr John Troyer, director of the Centre for Death and Society at the University of Bath. £10, 7-9pm. arnosvale.org.uk/events Friday July 6 & Saturday 7 n An Elephant In the Garden Tobacco Factory theatre, North Street. By War Horse creator Michael Morpurgo, this story about a family fleeing the Nazi regime chimes with the plight of refugees today. It’s 1945, Dresden, where Lizzie, her mother and an escaped zoo elephant try to avoid bombing by the RAF, the advance of the US army and Russian soldiers coming from the other direction.

Tickets from £12, 7.30pm. tobaccofactorytheatres.com

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

Saturday July 7 n Neubau Eyewear Launch Party Lynne Fernandes Optometrists, Wells Road, Totterdown. Exclusively browse the new Neubau collection including sunglasses. Enjoy a special offer on the day, refreshments, free prize draw and more, 9am-5pm. lynnefernandes.co.uk n DIY Sensor Workshop Knowle West Media Centre, Leinster Avenue. Did you know that you can make sensors with yarns and fabrics? Learn how to sew and knit sensors that sense movement and motion, then make this data visual. No experience required. Details on 0117 903 0444 or e-mail martha. king@kwmc.org.uk. 10.30am4.30pm. Suggested donation £5 but you can attend for free. kwmc.org.uk/events n Summer Garden Fete St Martin’s Church and grounds, St Martin’s Road, Knowle.

Afternoon teas and cakes, games, bric-a-brac, toys and plants, from 2 pm. n Coffee Morning for Methodist Women in Britain Fund Bedminster Methodist Church, British Road, Bedminster. 10.30am-12 noon.

With stalls including cakes, books and bric-a-brac. Tea and coffee. n Open Stage Saltcellar Folk Club, Totterdown Baptist church, entrance off Cemetery Road.

This open mic night is one of the most popular events of the Saltcellar calendar. 7.30pm, entry £1. Refreshments served, glasses available if you bring your own alcohol. saltcellarfolk.org.uk n Davy Knowles The Thunderbolt, Bath Road. Raised on the Isle of Man on a healthy diet of British blues-rock and US and British folk, guitarist and singer Davy Knowles has released four studio albums, three of them hitting the top 5 in the Billboard Blues chart. £15, 7.30pm. the thunderbolt.net Tuesday July 10 – Saturday 14 n Anne Boleyn Tobacco Factory theatre, North Street.

Howard Brenton puts the story of Henry VIII’s “notorious, brilliant and reckless” second wife in a new light. Boleyn has been portrayed by history as both a victim and a sexual predator.

South Bristol makes the stage move for Shakespeare Tuesday July 3 – Saturday 14 n 1599 Stackpool Playhouse, St Thomas Mar church, Stackpool Road, Southville.

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D VINEY, assistant director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, wrote 1599 and directs a community cast in a show about a year of disasters for the Bard as critics encircled him and his theatre was dismantled.

Yet it was also the year in which the Bard sealed his reputation by writing Henry V, Julius Caesar, As you Like it and Hamlet. It’s billed as

a fantastic, laugh-out-loud, illumination of Shakespeare and his plays, and if it’s anything to go by, its forerunner last year, Shakespeare’s Worst, was a sellout.

Expect the very stage to come alive and to see Bill Shakespeare as

you’ve never seen him before.

It’s part of Bristol Shakespeare Festival, which has dozens of events across Bristol. Tickets £13, £11 and £6 for children. 7.45pm, matinée 2.30pm Saturday. bristolshakespearefestival.org.uk

Here, Bristol’s Kelvin Players try to balance the picture of a woman who changed the course of England’s religious beliefs.

Tickets £12 (limited availability), 7.30pm; matinee 2pm Saturday. tobaccofactorytheatres.com Wednesday July 11 – Thursday 12 n Henna Night Paintworks, Bath Road. Judith leaves her exboyfriend a message saying she’s not coping with their break-up, she might be pregnant, she has bought some henna to dye her hair – or she might slash her wrists. But it’s his new partner, Ros, who hears the message, and she rushes to Judith’s bedsit …

The Far Cry theatre company presents Amy Rosenthal’s 2001 play. £5.50-£8.50, 7.30pm. paintworksbristol.co.uk Thursday July 12 n Quantum Physics For Beginners Loco Club, Temple Meads. A Funzing talk on the weirdness of the quantum world, where the atoms in your body are able to exist in two or more places at once. With Michael Brooks, who (luckily) has a PhD in quantum physics. £12, 7pm. locobristol.com/shows Friday July 13 n Ed Force One The Tunnels, Temple Meads. Ed Force One are a tribute band formed in 2017 to pay homage to “the mighty Iron Maiden”. With support from The Fumes and Metal Gods. Tickets £12, 8pm. thetunnelsbristol.co.uk

Saturday July 14 n Wet Felting Course Redcatch Community Centre, Redcatch Road, Knowle.

Entertaining Local Knowle presents a one-day course taught

by Janet Clarke on making bowls and decorations from felt.

The £30 fee includes lunch and materials. £30, 10am-4pm. elknowle.wixsite.com/elknowle n The Shakespeare Heptet Arnos Vale cemetery, Bath Road. As part of the Bristol Shakespeare Festival, experience a haunting folk-blues musical reimagining of Shakespeare’s sonnets. The Shakespeare Heptet explore the Bard’s preoccupation with mortality, death and the glorious agony of love. £14, 7.309pm. Bar (cash only). arnosvale.org.uk n 90s Dance Party The Tunnels, Temple Meads.

Remember when rhythm was a dancer and groove was in the heart? When tie-dye and centre partings were acceptable? Then you probably grew up in the 90s, when dance was fun. DJ PM plays club classics, disco, reggae and more. £7, 7.30pm thetunnelsbristol.co.uk Sunday July 15 n Underfall Yard walk Knowle & Totterdown Local History Society. Join Steve Hallam on a tour of the historic Underfall Yard at Bristol’s Floating Harbour. Steve is a

volunteer at the yard and hopes to reveal aspects of the yard not always on show to the public.

Starts at 1.45pm; email info@ knowleandtotterdownhistory. org.uk for details. knowleandtotterdownhistory. org.uk Monday July 16 n Book Group Windmill Hill community centre, Vivian Street.

Meets on the third Monday of every month, 8.30pm. whca.org.uk

Beset by troubles: A comic look at a year that almost broke the Bard

Pastie villains: South Western Tuesday July 17 – Friday 27 n South Western Tobacco Factory theatre, North Street.

An odyssey of revenge from the mean streets of Bristol to the perilous cliffs of Cornwall, via Wookey Hole, the Eden Project and Easton-in-Gordano services.

Award-winning Bristol company Wardrobe Ensemble (creators of 1972: The Future of Sex) present notorious villains, uneasy alliances, doomed love Continued overleaf

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

July 2018

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n WHAT’S ON Tender journey into a mind that’s fragile REVIEW: The Nature of Forgetting Tobacco Factory HIS is the most joyous, tender, gorgeous piece of ensemble movement, mime and music.

A father and daughter prepare for a birthday party. But he is slipping in and out of memories until the present and past are hard to distinguish, starting with a simple search to remember which suit he’s been told to wear.

Schooldays are captured beautifully, with the cast playing teenagers so authentically we are

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Continued from page 43 affairs and thigh-slapping folk music: “a spaghetti western with Cornish pasties”. Tickets from £12 (limited availability), 7.30pm; matinées Saturday 2pm and Thursday July 26 1pm. tobaccofactorytheatres.com Wednesday July 18 n Pamper Night Zion, Bishopsworth Road. For women only, a chance to get summerready with a revitalising pamper with friends. Treatments include reiki, Indian head massage, reflexology, feet and nail treatments, hot stones, hand massage, chiropractor advice and more. Early entry advisable, 6.30-9,30pm, treatments from £5. Entry £2.50, includes glass of bubbly, bar. zionbristol.co.uk n Big Sandy & His FlyRite Boys Loco Klub, Temple Meads. Hailed as “the kings of swinging, good-time American roots music”, Big Sandy and his Fly-Rite Boys have released 14 albums over 25 years. Support from Charley Crockett. Part of Bristol’s fourth River Town festival of the music of America’s heartland. £13.50, 8-11pm. locobristol.com/shows Wednesday July 18 – August 28 n Flying Figures Tobacco Factory snug bar, North Street. A collection of works by Bristolbased artists George Northcott and Laurie Cole. George creates 3D figures that play with the imagination, often riding strange concept contraptions.

Laurie creates paintings that illuminate small moments in

right there with them, a group of friends passing messages, messing about when the teacher’s not looking, and forming lifelong bonds. A vignette on a bicycle is absolute magic – our hero cycles to school, dawdling then sprinting, then his girl rides the bike as he runs alongside, faster and slower, overtaking each other, before she jumps on the handlebars and they ride together. This is all enacted with a non-moving bicycle, fixed on the stage. It’s so joyful, carefree, nostalgic and well done it brings a lump to my throat.

Clothes rails become scenery as well as holding costumes; desks and chairs are spun, slid and danced into place, the cast moving in and between scenes in complex creative sequences. Memories and poems collected or written by her. Curious figurative landscapes often include text in the imagery. tobaccofactory.com/whats-on Thursday July 19 & Friday 20 n The Other Side / How To Survive School (Kind Of) Acta theatre, Gladstone Street, Bedminster. A double-bill of shows by Bedminster Youth Theatres. “An ordinary day at Miss Winston’s Academy; science lessons, detention, Sid Jenkins getting locked in a dusty old cupboard. No-one realised what was waiting on the other side.

Everything is about to get very Unusual.” 6.30pm, £2. acta-bristol.com Friday July 20 n Franklin Mint The Thunderbolt, Bath Road, Totterdown. Finalists in the Metal to the Masses competition four years running, despite not being a metal band, Franklin Mint have been described as “curiously hypnotic and utterly bonkers” and compared to early Pink Floyd and Nick Cave.

Backed by Mutant Thoughts, a Bristol alternative synth-rock trio. £5, 7.30pm. thethunderbolt.net Saturday July 21 n Coffee Morning Bedminster Methodist Church, British Road, Bedminster, 10.30am-12 noon.

With stalls including cakes, books and bric-a-brac. Teas. n Ceremonial Way Tour Arnos Vale cemetery, Bath Road. This walk around the architecture and grave sites at Arnos Vale is designed to be

July 2018

southbristolvoice

n COMPETITION Subtle balance: The Nature of Forgetting manages to bring the weird reality of memories to the stage in an enthralling piece of theatre the present are blurred as our hero loses his grip and slips between memories, good and bad.

We reach a crescendo of chaotic clattering voice and accessible – it is on the flat and has rest points. Meet at the East Lodge, by the Bath Road gate. £5, 10.30am-12noon. arnosvale.org.uk Saturday July 21 and Sunday 22 n Woodland Tribe Windmill Hill City Farm, Philip Street, Bedminster. Children use hammers, nails and saws to build dens, and get creative with natural materials.

Sessions 10am-12 noon, 12 noon-2pm, 2-4pm. £8 advance, £10 on the day, for one adult and one child. Concessions are available – email julie.thorpe@ windmillhillcityfarm.org.uk. windmillhillcityfarm.org.uk Wednesday July 25 – Friday 27 Play in 3 Days Acta theatre, Gladstone Street, Bedminster.

A challenge for young carers – create and perform a play in just three days. Email info@actabristol.com to find out more. acta-bristol.com Thursday July 26 n Murderers, Mafia Hitmen & US Prison Arnos Vale cemetery, Bath Road. Shaun Attwood, a Brit, was incarcerated in Arizona’s highest-security prisons for six years. He tells how he was protected by Two Tonys, a Mafia hitman who left a trail of corpses from Tucson to Alaska but claimed they “all had it coming.” Adults only; includes graphic video shot inside prison.

A Funzing Talk. £12, 7.30-9pm (bar open 6.30pm). arnosvale.org.uk Friday July 27 n Are You Experienced? The Tunnels, Temple Meads. Jimi

movement, until the stage is laid bare. I was enthralled and didn’t want this performance to end. It deserved a much bigger audience than it had.

Beccy Golding Hendrix tribute act are in their 24th year, and claim they’re now the premier Hendrix tribute in Europe. They’ve headlined festivals in Brazil, Barbados, Rhodes as well as appearing at venues in Holland, Germany and Sweden. £8.50, 7.30pm. thetunnelsbristol.co.uk

IT’S BRISTOL’S BIGGEST GIG OF THE YEAR ...

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UMMER will finish with a flourish in Bristol as The Downs festival returns with a superb line-up featuring Noel Gallagher’s High-Flying Birds, Paul Weller, Orbital and Goldie & The Ensemble on Saturday, September 1.

Former Oasis frontman Noel will be heading up the bill, with fellow British music legend Paul Weller another heavyweight act for the event.

The Heavy, Houston trio Khruangbin, Nadine Shah and Dream Wife will also be playing to tens of thousands of music fans on Bristol’s much-loved green space.

The Avon stage will be headlined by a live set from electronic legends Orbital and will also host performances from producer-DJ Goldie and the Heritage Ensemble, Basement

Jaxx playing their world-beating DJ set, Channel One reggae soundsystem and Laid Blak.

The Information Stage, home of keynote speakers and discussion, will also return.

Conal Dodds, co-founder of co-promoters Crosstown Concerts, commented: “Noel has never headlined a show in Bristol so we are really excited to bring him and his band to the city and I think we’ve got the best line up we’ve had so far at The Downs.”

WIN A PAIR OF DOWNS FESTIVAL TICKETS!

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E’VE got a pair of tickets – worth £55.95 each – up for grabs for The Downs Bristol on Saturday September 1. It couldn’t be easier to enter: simply tell us why you should win.

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DOWNS FESTIVAL thedownsbristol.com

Stunning line-up on the Downs: Led by Noel Gallagher and Paul Weller RULES • Send entries by email to paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk or by post to 18 Lilymead Avenue, Bristol BS4 2BX. You must include your name, address and phone number.

• Closing date July 31.

• Open to BS3 and BS4 residents only. Not open to employees of

the Voice or anyone connected with the show.

• No information regarding entries will be disclosed to any third party not involved in the promotion of The Downs Bristol.

• The prize is not transferable, or exchangeable. There is no cash alternative.

Regular events

To advertise your event here from just £5 per month, contact Ruth at sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk n Danceblast “Bristol’s most exciting dance school.” Every Saturday and Sunday at St Francis Church Hall, North Street, Southville. Saturday: juniors, 3-4 years 10-11am, 5-6 years 11am-12 noon, 7-9 years 12 noon-1.30pm, 10-11 years 1.303pm, 12-13 years 2.15-4.15pm.

Sunday: seniors 14-18 years 1.304.30pm, Tobacco Factory studio.

Call Anne on 07984 069485. danceblast.co.uk n Iyengar Yoga with Naomi General level – suitable for beginners or those with some experience. Thursdays 7.459pm, Totterdown Methodist Church Hall, Winton Lane. £8 drop in. 07970 678872. Bring your mat, or spares are available. n JollyTots Music & Singing Workshops. Fun drop in music class for 0-5years and their grown-ups. No booking, just turn up! Tuesdays 10am (term time) Southville Centre, Beauley Road. £3.50 (siblings under 1 are free). jollytots.org.uk

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

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

July 2018

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n YOUR MP

Arena process has failed in every regard, at a cost of millions

P

LANS for a major development at Temple Meads have been mooted for 20 years or more, long before my election as Bristol South MP. Countless incarnations have been raised, then discarded, falling foul of the many vagaries associated with such large-scale projects. In recent years, however, a broad body of support has developed around the arena, a proposal billed as more than a construction project. It would, we were told, create jobs both in the short and long term.

Crucially, it would benefit the area of the city that often seems overlooked – South Bristol.

It is for these reasons that I have been an “in principle” supporter of a Temple Meads arena for some time. For me, it has never been a simple, transactionary endeavour, nor one where cheapest equalled best. It represented

a meaningful investment in the fabric of Bristol South and the people of Bristol South – both sorely needed, and long overdue.

It is deeply disheartening, therefore, to read the KPMG reports into the arena project published by Bristol city council. However you read them, the reports are very bad news for South Bristol. The main takeaway is as brutal as it is shortsighted – no arena and no investment for South Bristol. In fact, the only guarantee that residents have is years of uncertainty around the Temple Meads site.

Where we needed vision, bold thinking and a willingness to invest boldly, we were instead presented with Management Speak of the worst order. Moreover, there was an

n LOCAL SERVICES

AERIALS

KARIN SMYTH

unsettling reliance on intelligence from a private developer, alongside an overarching feeling that the reports simply said what they’d been asked to. They pose more questions than they answer, leading the reader through a maze, hedging bets and relying on the narrow terms of reference to avoid crucial issues.

It is an accepted fact that South Bristol needs investment, jobs and improved infrastructure. I would also contend that residents need a signal from those running the city that they are not forgotten. Instead, we are now looking at a process which has not only failed to deliver in every regard, but actually cost millions of pounds of tax payers’ money to achieve precisely nothing.

Too often, the challenges facing Bristol South residents seem overlooked when strategic decisions are taken. Embedded areas of poverty, poor transport links, and an overreliance on the city centre for jobs are all at play but, as with the recent Metrobus mess, apparently not properly considered.

We cannot allow the arena plans to be discarded without an urgent conversation about what replaces it. If the decision makers are of the opinion that the Temple Meads arena is not viable, a view I disagree with, they are duty bound to say what will take its place. One thing is certain – another 20 years of talk and uncertainty simply will not do.

July 2018

southbristolvoice

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

T: 07811 766072

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July 2018