South Bristol Voice Bedminster December 2017

southbristolvoice December 2017 No. 26

www.southbristolvoice.co.uk

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We’re back for Christmas!

Winter Lanterns winning poster

by Tallulah of Southville primary

• Ready for lanterns 3 VOICE EXCLUSIVE

• Don Cameron on the future of the Balloon Fiesta 5 VOICE EXCLUSIVE Youngsters from the Southville Centre nursery are back on TV for Christmas, reunited with their friends from St MonicaTrust in Channel 4’s Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds at Christmas. Transmission will be in December, though there was no date as we went to press.

Metrobus won’t be along until Easter

VOICE EXCLUSIVE BUS passengers and car drivers are already enjoying shorter journey times thanks to work to construct Metrobus.

That’s the claim from the team behind the £230 million busway – though the new buses will take much longer to arrive.

Ashton Vale to Temple Meads, the first of the three Metrobus routes, will not be operational

until around Easter, at the end of March, the Voice has been told.

The delay is because complex new iPoints, the interactive terminals which will be placed at each of the 79 Metrobus stops, are still being tested.

Cllr Mark Bradshaw, Bristol’s ex-transport chief who oversaw some of the planning of Metrobus, said he was “just amazed” at the Continued on page 12

• South Bristol tops TV licence dodgers 6 • Families turning to food banks 8-9

HISTORY

• Whose idea was the suspension bridge?

Pages 37-40

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IN

December 2017

southbristolvoice

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

Intro

CLOSE TO THE EDGE IT WILL be sobering for many of us to sit down and think how close we are to a breakdown in our standard of living. One in three families in England are said to be one month’s salary away from losing their home.

Of course, if the worst happens, like becoming too ill to work, there’s a benefits system to fall back on. We’re a civilised nation – right?

Wrong, if the Voice’s visit to the food bank at Victoria Park Baptist Church is anything to go by. We met people who had suffered some common adversities – a father walking out, an agency worker injured so he couldn’t work, a mum

You can find South Bristol Voice on Facebook and Twitter facebook.com/ southbristolvoice Twitter: @sbristolvoice Next month’s deadline for editorial and advertising is December 12th suffering mental illness. You’d think the fifth richest country in the world would have the systems in place to help people in an emergency, or if they can’t work.

The state ought to be able to provide benefits without weeks of delay. It ought to be able to design a welfare system that isn’t insanely complicated and allows people to be evicted because the paperwork hasn’t caught up.

Above all, it shouldn’t rely on the warm-heartedness of churchgoers, volunteers and local businesses to ensure that, in Bristol, in 2017, parents can lay their hands on a few tins of food to feed their children. That we rely, increasingly, on the efforts of charities to feed and to house the most vulnerable, is a disgrace. Isn’t it?

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: Surgery on Friday December 8. Call 0117 953 3575 for an appointment.

My councillor?

By post: (all councillors) Brunel House, St George’s Road, Bristol BS1 5UY

Celia Phipps Labour, Bedminster By phone: 07469 413312 By email: Cllr.celia.phipps@bristol.gov.uk Mark Bradshaw Labour, Bedminster. By email: Cllr.mark. bradshaw@bristol.gov.uk By phone: 0117 353 3160 Stephen Clarke Green, Southville By email: Cllr.stephen.clarke@ bristol.gov.uk Charlie Bolton Green, Southville By phone: 07884 736111 By email: Cllr.charlie.bolton@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 Housing benefit 0117 922 2300 Social services 0117 922 2900 Police Inquiries 101 Emergency 999

Fire Inquiries 0117 926 2061 Emergency 999 Action Greater Bedminster Local forum for the public, councillors, police, council officials and other bodies.

Next meeting For news see • Facebook: actiongreaterbedminster

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 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 Co. no. 09522608 | VAT no. 211 0801 76

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

n NEWS Come and hold a bucket at the Lantern Parade Nine-storey homes plan for former shipyard THE SITE of a historic South Bristol shipyard could be turned over to housing if developer Crest Nicholson gets its way.

The former Paynes shipyard is off Coronation Road, between the petrol station and the Thomas Ware & Sons tannery.

Crest Nicholson wants to tear down the buildings on the site and build up to 179 flats – 97 one-bedroom and 82 two-bed, in buildings of up to nine storeys.

Bristol Civic Society and the BS3 Planning group have both been consulted on a preapplication plan, which has not been made public. Both are thought to oppose the scheme as too big and costing too many jobs. The site is home to metal spraying, tool hire and offices, providing jobs for 24 people.

Crest Nicholson has apparently indicated that it will change the plans before making a public planning application. But the firm was unable to confirm this.

The Paynes yard was used for shipbuilding from the 1840s to the 1920s.

The council is considering whether Crest Nicholson needs to carry out an environmental assessment on the site.

southbristolvoice LAST month’s urgent appeal for stewards for the Bedminster Winter Lantern Parade has succeeded and the event will go ahead on Saturday December 9.

But there’s still a need for people willing to hold buckets to

collect for two good causes on the day – the Lantern Parade itself, and Bedminster-based charity Help Bristol’s Homeless.

Up to 11 schools will be taking part in North Street from 3-6pm.

• bwlp.org.uk

Time for some real action on football parking chaos MORE than a year after the opening of the enlarged Ashton Gate stadium, residents are still suffering parking chaos at many home games.

Reports of dangerous parking, of roads obstructed so that emergency vehicles can’t get through, and residents having to drive around for an hour to find a parking space continue despite claims action was being taken.

More parking tickets have been issued and cars towed away after complaints last season that the police, Bristol Sport and the council were blaming each other for inaction.

But Bedminster councillor Mark Bradshaw says the problem is still getting worse. “It’s an issue that’s growing, both over time and in the geographc area that’s affected,” he said.

Cllr Bradshaw and his Labour colleague Cllr Cellia Phipps are now getting more complaints from Ashton Vale. “It’s not just a problem for the streets around the stadium,’ said Cllr Bradshaw.

He believes it is time to consider a matchday parking scheme – not a full resident parking scheme, but an area where only people with permits can park during matches. A scheme at the Ricoh stadium in Coventry has LED street signs which show the restricted hours.

Like many residents, Cllr Bradshaw is also calling for double yellow lines on corners, to stop dangerous obstructions.

Even main roads like Duckmoor Road have been left impassable to buses and emergency vehicles.

Enforcement is still not tough enough on offenders, he says.

Matchday parking measures should be funded by Bristol Sport once attendance passes a 25,000 on three matches out of five.

The stadium owner has put on extra buses, which is helping. But Long Ashton Park & Ride can’t be used on matchdays until ownership is transferred to Bristol city council – which will take many months.

• Your councillors: Page 35

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A TEACHER from Southville died after setting himself on fire on August 31 in the grounds of Ashton Court.

Andrew Jones was feeling under severe strain after being placed under review in his job at Park primary school in Kingswood.

Mr Jones was a caring man and an inspiring teacher, an inquest at Flax Bourton coroners court heard.

But his mental health deteriorated when he believed his teaching career was over, the Bristol Post reported. The verdict was suicide.

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

December 2017

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4

n NEWS CALLS FOR AUDITORS TO LOOK AT CHIEF EXEC’S RAPID DEPARTURE A PETITION has been launched demanding an investigation into the payoff given to departed council chief executive Anna Klonowski, and the way in which she was appointed.

The leaders of Bristol’s Lib Dem, Green and Tory councillors have all asked for inquiries to be made by the council’s audit committee and by its independent auditors.

Ms Klonowski left the council

suddenly in September, after only seven months, saying she had to look after her elderly parents. It has been claimed she had a payoff of £70,000 or more.

Mayor Marvin Rees has so far resisted all requests for an inquiry.

He hit out at councillors who he said had revealed confidential information about the affair, and said all payments to Ms Klonowski were in line with her contract.

The Voice has received answers to questions it put to the council about Ms Klonowski – eight weeks after they were submitted.

COUNCIL CUTBACKS LATEST Asked about Ms Klonowski’s entitlement to notice, the council pointed to her terms and conditions, which mention a six-month notice period.

Lib Dem leader Gary Hopkins said if she had resigned, she would not be entitled to the money.

The Voice asked if votes were taken and recorded properly at a series of meetings of the council’s selection committee. It has been suggested that at an initial meeting a vote was not taken, then a second meeting was called, and a third.

The council did not attempt to

explain what happened at the three meetings. It said: “The discussions and deliberations of the selection committee are confidential. The decision and recommendation of the committee are recorded and per normal process [sic] this is what went to full council to decide upon in February 2017.”

The council did not answer a question asking if Ms Klonowski had stayed at work until the end of September, as claimed.

Petition calling for an inquiry: • taxpayersmoney.weebly.com

Charges for firms who profit in parks DEPUTY mayor Asher Craig has admitted that Bristol’s parks cannot be run on a zero budget.

Cuts plans unveiled earlier this year called for community groups to run parks, with more earned from outdoor events, cutting council spending to zero.

The idea was widely derided as impossible. Now Cllr Craig agrees, and she told a lively full council meeting on November 14 that she has reduced the parks cuts by £1.7 million, and is asking the Government for more help.

However, Bristol Parks Forum, which presented a 4,411-name anti-cuts petition to the meeting, said there was still “a high risk that there will be a drastic cut in the maintenance of parks that will lead to a downward spiral of reduced use and increased anti-social behaviour.”

Cllr Gary Hopkins said the council’s aims for raising money were “wishful thinking”.

“We haven’t seen enough detail yet,” he said. Previous

Zero-budget aim is off the table, but cuts are still severe attempts by the council to sell advertising space on roundabouts had failed, he said.

At Victoria Park, VPAG chair Shaun Hennessy said local firms advertising might be acceptable, but not adverts from bigger firms “changing the face of the park”.

ADVERTS IN PARKS, AND CHARGES FOR ‘BUSINESS USERS’ OF GREEN SPACES PARKS could be used for camping, adventure golf and other activities, under new proposals from the council to save £2.3 million.

Advertising and charging more for ice cream vans and cafés are other ideas to plug the funding gap.

The council says it will keep all parks open and free to use.

Mr Hennessy said he agreed with the principle of charging firms who make profit in a park.

“I think people who are using the parks as a business should, on a moral basis, contribute to their upkeep,” he said. But he questioned how the council would identify all the dog walkers and fitness instructors who work in parks, and asked how it would enforce payments.

One professional dog walker told the Voice she could see the

logic of imposing charges. But she pointed out that it would be easy to charge only the more responsible members of the profession – those who have a council licence to board dogs at their home. Some dog boarders operate without a licence, and in any case no licence is needed to walk dogs, she said.

The council is looking at the idea of a trust to run the parks.

But it has not said how it would find the many millions needed.

Ideas up for discussion in the new consultation, which runs until January 29, include: • Increasing income from cafés and concessions, such as ice cream vans; • ‘Appropriate’ advertising in parks and green spaces; • Charging dog walkers, fitness instructors and other businesses operating from a park; • Fee-paying activities in parks – including inflatables, camping, adventure golf and car boot sales.

It’s not expected that most parks will be opened up for camping, for example – uses like that are probably only feasible on major sites such as Ashton Court.

But major changes of use like a campsite would need planning permission and, whether at Ashton Court or anywhere else, seem likely to arouse opposition.

• bristol.citizenspace.com/ neighbourhoods/parks-andgreen-spaces

Parks forum

Buoy oh boy

A PUBLIC forum on the future of BS3’s parks will be the first major event organised by Action Greater Bedminster (AGB), the new name for the area’s biggest community group. The forum will be held early in 2018.

Born out of the ashes of the Greater Bedminster Community Partnership, AGB brings together dozens of groups from across BS3 with councillors and the police. Among other priorities are streets and rubbish, urban planning, libraries and air quality.

• bedminster.org.uk/community

VICKY Harrison, creator of the Bristol crocodile and more, needs your help! Her plan to create a woollen cosy for the giant buoy at the dockside by the SS Great Britain – to turn it into a giant Christmas bauble – is at risk. She needs hundreds more knitted or crocheted hexagons. “Even if I could crochet 8 or 9 hexagons a day, I couldn’t make enough by our deadline of December 10,” she said. So she’s calling for volunteers to help. There’s a pattern and colours on the website: • craftingthecity.org/buoyble/

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

December 2017

southbristolvoice

n NEWS

5

COUNCIL CUTBACKS LATEST

We won’t have to move the Balloon Fiesta, says founder VOICE EXCLUSIVE

Don Cameron expects to keep Fiesta free despite council demands THE BALLOON Fiesta looks set to return to Ashton Court next summer – despite fears that new charges would force it to move elsewhere.

Fiesta founder Don Cameron told the Voice that Bristol city council had “moderated their demands” and he believed the two sides could reach an agreement that would keep the event at its traditional venue.

“I think we have a basis that we can run the fiesta in the coming year,” said Mr Cameron.

It has been clear for several months that the council wanted the fiesta, which attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors over four days each August, to pay the city for its use of the Ashton Court estate.

The council wants to save £2.8 million from its parks budget.

Mr Cameron, however, has been adamant that any demand

Safe: The 2018 Balloon Fiesta for payment would force the fiesta to look for another venue.

The fiesta is run by a non-profit making trust, which has written into its constitution that visitors will not be charged an entry fee.

Asked if the multi-million pound event couldn’t afford to pay for the use of Ashton Court, Mr Cameron said: “It probably makes quite a lot of profit for various Bristol businesses. But not for us!

“It’s run as a non-profit organisation and it’s run by volunteers who have never been paid in the last 39 years,” he said.

Mr Cameron said the idea of charging an entry fee has been examined briefly over the years, but would be impractical. The sprawling nature of the estate would make it hard to set up

COUNCILLORS BACK LIBRARY RESCUE – BUT WILL IT STICK?

An alternative plan backed by opposition parties would see the libraries passed to a trust, with volunteers brought in to help run them. This plan, proposed by Lib THE FUTURE of Bristol’s libraries is Dem Cllr Arthur Negus, was uncertain after councillors passed by just one vote. narrowly backed a move to avoid However, under the mayoral the Labour administration’s plan of system, a majority vote may not be mass closures. enough to change policy.

The council wants to shut 17 The decision on libraries will be branch libraries, leaving 10 open, taken by mayor Marvin Rees and saving £1.4 million. his cabinet, probably in December.

A full council meeting on •November Including Malago, House, Southville, Council officials will have to 14 heard a waveGaywood of consider Cllr Negus’s ideas. But Lib Bedminster Family Practice, Wedmore Practice protest against the plans, with Dem leader Gary Hopkins said the three petitions presented totalling council was in “turmoil” over almost 13,000 signatures. libraries because it had failed to Members of the public queued consider the trust option for up to denounce the closures. several months even though the Under the council plan, Government had backed it.

Bedminster library and probably Now Whitehall funds are on Knowle would be safe. But Wick offer to look at the alternative plan, Road, Marksbury Road, Stockwood, and it would look “ludicrous” if it’s Bishopsworth, Whitchurch and not considered, said Cllr Hopkins.

Filwood branches are at risk.

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barriers, which would also cause delays.

“The fiesta brings in £13m into the city’s economy every year. It gives free entertainment because we don’t charge for entry and we attract hundreds of thousands of people.

“We give the city some really positive PR,” he said.

He said the deal that is nearing agreement with the council does not involve the fiesta making a payment for use of the estate. But the fiesta will pay for some works on the estate which will benefit the council.

“It’s a package of things – we are making some investment in the site,” he said.

The 39th Bristol International Balloon Fiesta is at Ashton Court from August 9-12, 2018.

• bristolballoonfiesta.co.uk

Hugo’s getting chopping now Hugo Sapsed picks a tree for his festive gift A WOULD-BE greengrocer who is crowdfunding to set up his dream of an ethical food store is already giving something back to the community.

Hugo Sapsed starts selling Christmas trees from his shop at 73 North Street on December 1, and to get in the festive spirit he has already donated one tree to Victoria Park Baptist church.

He aims to sell mainly produce grown within 15 miles, bought direct from suppliers. His crowdfunding target of £4,500 was 83 per cent complete as the Voice went to press.

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

December 2017

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n NEWS Warm up on at-risk Green

CELEBRATE the season and learn about the Save Our Green campaign on Sunday December 10 when community group WHaM holds its Winter Warmer on Bedminster Green, at the bottom of Windmill Hill, at 2.30pm.

There’ll be mulled cider, carol singing, music and lanterns and lights for children to place around the green.

WHaM has been planting bulbs on the green and wants to draw attention to development plans for the area which would build on the open space.

“All the mature trees would be destroyed and we would lose an important publicly-owned green space,” WHaM says.

• Facebook: Windmill Hill Malago Community Planning Group

Marathon win A RUNNER from Bedminster has won a place in the London Marathon in aid of brain injury charity Headway Bristol.

Chris Warren, a keen runner from Bedminster Down, will be fundraising in memory of best friend Scott Morrison, who died following a traumatic brain injury three years ago.

The event in April 2018 is always heavily oversubscribed.

It’s Chris’s first marathon and he is hoping to raise at least £3,000 for the charity, which helped him and his friend’s family after Scott died.

• uk.virginmoneygiving.com/ ChrisWarren11

ASK A VET:

n NEWS

South Bristol is worst in the region for dodging TV licence VOICE EXCLUSIVE SOUTH Bristol is the worst part of the city for TV licence evasion, according to new data from TV Licensing.

The BS13 postcode, which includes Bedminster Down, Bishopsworth, Hartcliffe, Withywood and Headley Park, tops the list of areas of Bristol where the most evaders were caught by TV Licensing in the last 12 months, with 458 evaders.

The area is closely followed by the BS4 postcode, which includes Brislington, Knowle, Knowle West, St Anne’s and Totterdown, where 374 people were caught.

Together, these two areas account for a quarter of the 3,226 evaders caught by TV Licensing between October 2016 and September 2017 in the entire Bristol region with BS postcodes.

Given that each postcode is roughly equal in population, it points to a markedly higher rate of people trying to dodge the TV licence in South Bristol.

Many will assume that this is linked to the area’s pockets of high deprivation – some of the worst in the UK. Across the UK, evasion runs at around six per cent, meaning around 94 per cent of TV viewers are licensed. A TV licence is needed to watch or record live TV on any channel (even though the fee is used to pay the running

10 WORST AREAS FOR TV LICENCE EVASION IN BRISTOL Postcode and area TV Licence

evaders caught BS13 Bedminster Down, Bishopsworth, Hartcliffe, 453 Withywood, Headley Park BS4

C

one spare. For example two cats require three litter trays, food and water bowls. This gives them more choice and more freedom.

Cats can show aggression subtly, such as blocking each other, staring, spending time up high or hiding, or changes in eating and grooming habits. Aggression can

352

BS16 Downend, Emersons Green, Fishponds, Frenchay, Pucklechurch, Staple Hill

252

Brislington, Knowle, Knowle West, St Anne’s, part of Totterdown

BS10 Brentry, Henbury, Southmead, part of Westbury-on-Trym 254 BS23 Uphill, Weston-super-Mare BS5

210

Easton, St George, Redfield, Whitehall, Eastville

272

BS11 Avonmouth, Shirehampton, Lawrence Weston

196

BS15 Hanham, Kingswood

189

BS7

162

Bishopston, Horfield, part Filton, Lockleaze, Ashley Down

BS34 Part of Filton, Little Stoke, Patchway, Stoke Gifford

157

Data collected by TV Licensing, October 2016-September 2017

costs of the BBC alone). As of September 2016 you also need a licence to watch or download BBC shows on iPlayer.

Enforcement officers have a database of 31 million homes which shows who has a licence.

They also use detector vehicles which can show if a TV is being used in an unlicensed home.

Some of the lowest rates of evasion were found in BS31, which covers Keynsham and Saltford, which had 54 evaders.

Richard Chapman, South West spokesperson for TV

WHY DON’T MY CATS GET ON?

ATS are naturally solitary animals, yet a recent survey found that 44 per cent of cat-owning households have more than one cat.

Cats, in general, prefer not to fight. Instead they use visual and audible communication to avoid physical confrontations.

Sharing a home can be difficult for cats and can result in stressrelated behaviours, such as urine marking or inter-cat aggression.

It’s important to ensure that each cat has access to exit/entry points to the home. The rule of thumb for litter trays, food and water bowls is one for each cat and

Licensing, said: “In Bristol, we catch the most people evading in the south of the city. While we’d much rather people paid, those caught watching TV without a TV licence can face prosecution and a fine of up to £1,000.”

Bizarrely, the penalty is much tougher on Guernsey – the maximum fine there is £2,000.

The licence fee of £147 can be paid by weekly instalments over the counter, online, by SMS, by phone or in cash. To find out more call 0300 790 6078 or visit • tvlicensing.co.uk/payinfo

From Highcroft Vets, Whitchurch

be seen between cats that have previously been friendly, often after an event such as renovation in the home, or when a cat returns from time away (such as at the vets).

Aggression can also be as a result of pain or a medical problem.

When a new cat is introduced to a resident cat, aggression can be due to territorial or fear-related issues. To ease the situation, cats should be separated to prevent injury and further damage to their relationship. Avoid punishing the cats for fighting.

Cats use scents known as pheromones to communicate with each other and to reassure

themselves. By scent swapping, you can reacquaint each cat without any physical contact.

This involves rubbing a cotton cloth under the chin of one of the cats and then leaving it in the room with the other cat and vice versa.

Use a door to separate the cats to encourage peaceful coexistence.

Over time, contact can be increased, maybe with cats on harnesses, and given food at separate ends of a large room. Gradually reduce the distance between the cats. Once there is no tension, allow the cats monitored access to each other.

A synthetic pheromone may also be useful – ask your vet.

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

December 2017

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n NEWS Students may live in ‘old gaol’ ANDS up: who knew HOW YOU CAN HELP there was a food bank that never was VOLUNTEER There were plenty of in South Bristol? Who

December 2017

Imposing: The ‘Gaol’ PHOTO: Google PLANS have been submitted to the council to turn The Old Gaol in Willway Street, Bedminster, into a number of serviced apartments for students and other short-term residents.

Details were not available as the Voice went to press, due to a problem with the council’s planning website.

The building is in a historic back street behind Bedminster Parade, and is part of an imposing stone-built row which also includes Fiddlers music venue.

However, it doesn’t appear ever to have been a prison, said Neil Sellers of community group BS3 Planning. “It appears to have been a ropeworks, built in about 1790,” said Mr Sellers. He thinks it has been assumed it was a prison because of the bars on the windows.

Planners have yet to consider the application, which will preserve the historic appearance of the building. Mr Sellers said the plans appeared to be “quite a sympathetic development.”

knew that in the fifth richest country in the world, in one of its most productive cities, there are families who sometimes can’t afford to put food on the table?

Luckily, there are food banks – and there’s not just one, but several in our part of the city. The Voice visited Victoria Park Baptist church, which hands out food every Friday from 10am-noon (the others are in our panel).

Many will be shocked that people can end up without enough to eat; perhaps more will find it even more offensive that the principal reason they can’t buy food is that the benefits system has let them down. The Voice spoke to several people collecting food from Victoria Park Baptist church one Friday.

All of them cited delays in getting the benefits to which they are entitled as the reason they needed a handout.

No one is able to walk off the street and claim food: all users have to be referred by social services or another agency. They get food for three days for whoever is in their household who hasn’t got the money to buy groceries.

We have given all the interviewees assumed names.

Claire, 33, is a mother of three from the Bedminster area. It seems likely she’s not getting all the benefits she’s entitled to. The father of her children – one at secondary school, one at primary

helpers at the food bank when the Voice visited but more are welcome, especially if you have a vehicle and are willing to pick up donations of food.

DONATE GROCERIES Nonperishable items are best – fresh food is often donated by food stores, and sometimes there’s too much. Toiletries are also needed.

GIVE MONEY Send a cheque payable to Victoria Park Baptist Church, Sylvia Avenue, Bristol BS3 5DA. Or transfer funds online to account no. 51703083, sort code 09 01 55 – enter the reference Food Bank.

OTHER FOOD BANKS Refresh 81 East Street, Bedminster BS3 4EX. Food bank every Wednesday 10am-1pm. Also hot meals. 0117 908 6015 • refreshbedminster.co.uk Counterslip Baptist Church 648-652 Wells Road BS14 9HT. 01275 833377.

• counterslip.co.uk/mission/thefood-bank school, and one pre-schooler – doesn’t give her any money for their upkeep. She has worked in the past, but with such young children it’s not possible.

Luckily she lives in a council house, so her rent is lower than it would be if she was renting privately, but her bills are still a problem.

She’s getting by on child benefit and other allowances of about £240 a week, and she says her

9

more and more people to food banks ‘While we argue about welfare policy, someone has to provide food for these families’

regular bills “are way over that”.

This is the second time she has been to the food bank, and she expects she’ll have to come again.

“This place is brilliant – it makes a massive difference,” she says.

She walks out with a large cardboard box crammed with tinned food, cauliflower, baguettes donated by Tesco, and cereal.

Sophie and Clarke arrive together. They live in the Totterdown area. Clarke was in employment but he’s got an injury which means he can’t work. Being an agency worker means no sick pay. And as a single man he’s a guinea pig for the new Universal Credit, which means no benefits for six weeks.

Sophie is a mum with mental health problems. As we talk, she finds it hard to cope with the hubbub around us. She’s also unable to face up to the electricity bill she owes.

The box of groceries they walk out with is a godsend – as is the advice they get on their money problems from Citizens Advice worker Andy (see right).

Estelle arrives with her three year-old son, Hugo. They were on the brink of becoming homeless, and might have been if Estelle hadn’t sought help from the Compass Point Children’s centre in Bedminster. She’s a citizen of another EU country. She was working but she had to give it up because she couldn’t find childcare. She found a part-time job, and claimed working tax credits, but that stopped because

Put on a panto in a day

New home for homeless

A NEW pantomime for BS3 is hoping for an even bigger cast than last year’s volunteer crew of 50. Aladdin BS3 takes place on Saturday December 16 at the Stackpool Playhouse in St Thomas Mar Thoma Church in Stackpool Road.

Workshops to rehearse the play and create the costumes and scenery take place from 10am-4.30pm. The performance is at 6.30pm, open to all, with tickets £5. It’s put on by drama groups Acting Out and Launchpad and involves the Southville Centre’s Monday Club

HELP Bristol’s Homeless, the pioneeering project to create homes out of shipping containers for those without a roof over their heads, is hoping to move to a new home.

Created by Jasper Thompson, owner of the Jamaican Diner in North Street, the charity is based on an empty plot in Malago Road.

So far homeless people have helped build 11 container homes, and were the stars of the Grand Designs Live show at the NEC in Birmingham when they put one of their homes on display.

The site is owned by developer

for older people, the centre’s nursery pupils, and people of every age in between.

“We are really looking forward to lots of you getting involved with acting, creating and devising with us on the day!” says Angela from Acting Out. Professional actor Chris Yapp will narrate and direct the play.

Proceeds are split between the Southville Centre’s Monday Club and St Thomas Mar Thoma Church. The workshop will cost £22 for children and over 18s are free. Tickets from the website: • actingoutdrama.com

southbristolvoice

n NEWS

Benefits delays are driving

H

December 2017

Paul O’Brien, who is applying to buid more than 200 flats there.

Now Jasper has won agreement from Bristol city council housing boss Cllr Paul Smith to take over another empty Bedminster site. It’s hoped it could hold up to 22 homes in a container village. But various permissions have to be sought first. Meanwhile Jasper and the team are converting a bus into a 200-bed mobile night shelter.

• Facebook: Help Bristol’s Homeless • More on South Bristol’’s homeless in the January Voice.

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

Meals in a box: Enough to last a family three days, from the church store she tried to fill in a form honestly, counted her lunch hour as working time, and was judged to be working over the 16-hour limit.

As an EU citizen, she’s not entitled to income support.

Recently her income was reduced to just child tax credits and child benefit, worth a total of £38.50 a week. She almost lost her home

ADVICE CAN CUT YOUR DEBTS SEVERAL of the food bank’s visitors were able to talk over their money problems with Andy Clark, a money advice caseworker with Citizen’s Advice Bristol.

“I have just seen a lady and I reckon I can get her extra benefit, and cut in half what she owes,” he said. “She has a loan from the social fund that she’s paying at £36 per week – I can get that down to £5 or £10.”

Andy fears the impact of Universal Credit, the all-in-one

because her tenancy required her to work: she had four days to find a job, and she secured one.

Now she needs a box of food to get her and Hugo through the weekend.

Hopefully, after three months of trying, she will be given Jobseekers Allowance next week.

Hopefully.

THE FOOD bank at Victoria Park was set up five years ago and has seen demand rise steadily, at about 10 to 15 per cent each year.

In the last two years, however, the rate is climbing. There were 720 people helped by the service in 2016 – a 20 per cent rise on the 600 users the year before.

This year, the number was over 800 at the beginning of November, and looks set to rise by close to 25 per cent over the year as a whole.

With Universal Credit (UC) being rolled out in Bristol, and bringing with it delays of weeks before people receive benefits, the need for the food bank looks likely to increase still further.

Amazingly, when there are five Fridays in one month, which there are in December, some people who are paid weekly will be

assessed as receiving too much, and their UC will stop.

Rev Bassett can understand the justification for some of the new benefits rules – for example, the cap that means that jobless families with lots of children won’t receive more than families who are in work.

But he’s clear that while society is debating the rights and wrongs of welfare policy, some people are being left without resources.

“Someone has to provide food for them”, he says.

Austerity is really taking its toll, he says, making life very difficult for those who fall on hard times.

People facing an emergency like illness or losing a job used to be able to get a grant or a crisis loan from the Government’s Social Fund. Like some other benefits, that has been shunted into the hands of town halls, which don’t have adequate funding and now only make loans, which have to be paid back. “It’s very difficult for these people,” said Rev Bassett.

benefit which is supposed to be fairer and simpler, but where delays in payment have led to many tenants being threatened with eviction.

Universal Credit is now being rolled out in Bristol for single claimants without children. “We think it will have a tremendous impact,” said Andy.

• A money advice worker is at the Food Bank at Victoria Park Baptist church every Friday. Or contact: • Bristol Citizens Advice, 48 Fairfax Street, Bristol BS1 3BL, 0800 138 3442 (debt advice) or 03444 111 444 (general advice).

Children’s treats MP condemns for food bank Budget claims BEDMINSTER’S food bank has a heap of festive treats after a pupil at St Mary Redcliffe primary school asked fellow pupils to help.

Arlo Rubinsmith, 10, and his friends, Thomas, 10, and Emily, 7, toured classrooms with teacher Liz Radnor to ask for treats to take to the Refresh food bank in East Street, Bedminster. They easily beat their target of 100 items, collecting advent calendars, selection boxes, cakes chocolate coins, and biscuits.

MP KARIN Smyth said the November Budget has done little to help the thousands of South Bristol residents in low-paid jobs who are struggling to make ends meet or find a home.

Nothing was done to boost apprenticeships, which have a high drop-out rate among hard-up young people, she said.

The South Bristol Labour MP renewed her call for Universal Credit to be halted and said the Tory claim that “work always pays” is “simply not the case”.

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

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n NEWS

T

HE UNIVERSITY of Bristol has been challenged to come up with ways in which it can help Totterdown and other parts of South Bristol meet the challenges of the huge tide of development which is about to sweep the area in the next 10 years.

At a meeting called to discuss plans for a 3,500-student, £300m campus at Temple Meads, a university team heard pleas from the public to help the community thrive in the face of major building plans for the Temple Quarter enterprise zone and beyond.

Simon Hobeck, chair of community group Tresa, which called the meeting, said that, as well as the university plan, Totterdown and the Arnos Vale area face a wave of developments in the next few years.

It could mean an extra 3,000 residents in the Bath Road corridor, and 1,500 extra vehicle movements or more, he said.

Mr Hobeck asked the university’s team of four academics, who are leading the

December 2017

UNIVERSITY PLANS

University confronted over WHAT’S PROPOSED? AN outline planning application was filed late in November. It shows: • A campus for “at least” 3,500 students – not the 3,000 spoken about at the public meeting – and 800 members of staff; • Three out of four students would be postgraduates, the rest undergraduates; • A vast, 35,500 sq m, 10-storey academic building on the site of the derelict Royal Mail sorting office at Cattle Market Road – as big as the sorting office; • Also on the Cattle Market Rd site: a 9-storey academic building and two buildings, of 12 storeys and 10 storeys, that could either be for Future Campus programme, if they would move in to acquire the rest of Arena Island if the Bristol arena is not built there.

Professor Dave Cliff, a computer scientist and the

academic use or student flats; • On part of Arena Island, a 24-storey high-rise student accommodation block; • Two further blocks of student rooms, of 11 and 18 storeys; • There would be 1,300-1,500 student bedrooms, and 43,400 sq m of university work space; • Many buildings may have bars, cafés and shops at ground floor; • Outline consent is aimed for by spring 2018, when detailed plans will be submitted. Final approval is expected by the end of 2018; • Construction will start in autumn 2019 and the campus will open in summer 2021, wiith building continuing until 2022.

• planningonline.bristol.gov.uk university’s academic lead for the project, said it was possible that the university might take an interest in the arena site if it became vacant, “but we don’t have any inside information.”

HIGHER THAN THE HILL MANY have criticised the plan for a 24 or 25-storey building of student accommodation on Arena Island. It would be the tallest building in Bristol (though other planning applications are expected for still higher buildings elsewhere in the city centre).

The height and the density of the development have been encouraged by the city council, said the university team.

“This is a monstrously tall building,” said Tresa member Julian Noble, “it’s taller than Totterdown hill. Most of us won’t be looking down on it, we will be looking up at it.” Several people pleaded for Totterdown’s unique views to be protected.

STUDENT HOUSING

CONCERNS were expressed that half the campus’s students will need to find somewhere to live, as there will be a maximum of 1,500 student rooms built. “It

December 2017

southbristolvoice

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n NEWS

UNIVERSITY PLANS

towers and transport issues may have a major impact on us if a number of houses in multiple occupation are taken over by students,” said Tresa director Anne Silber.

“A lot of houses in this area are let, not owner-occupied, so it is going to be an issue.”

Mr Bradshaw said students now seem to prefer to live in city centres, not in shared housing in the suburbs.

The new campus will be mainly for postgraduates on one- or two-year courses, he said.

• The meeting was told that there would be roughly 3,000 students but plans seen later by the Voice speak of “a minimum of 3,500” students, with the implication that more could follow.

CASH FOR THE CITY THE TEMPLE Meads enterprise zone could be an important source of revenue for cashstrapped City Hall. But students don’t pay council tax, and the university, a charity, doesn’t pay business rates. “How can you get more cash into the city when we are facing £100m cuts in the next five years?” asked one attendee.

It’s a valid point, said the university’s Professor Rich Pancost, but it’s hoped big firms like HP will want to have a base on the campus, and they will pay business rates.

Mr Bradshaw told the Voice that the effect of the university occupying the site, rather than a commercial user, would have a relatively modest effect on the council’s income.

The new campus will be funded by borrowing – the university will issue bonds to investors such as pension funds.

BRISTOL IS UK’S TECH No.1 THE BRISTOL and Bath region is by far the most productive technology cluster in the UK, said Prof Dave Cliff, explaining the need for the new campus.

Even London is a long way

Southville, which had similar problems until a resident parking scheme was brought in, which he thought worked very well.

The university has offered to pay towards a residents parking scheme near the campus – a measure that seems to be getting increasing support.

COMMUNITY FACILITIES THE UNIVERSITY has said it could open up facilities such as a gym, theatre or creche to the public. It promises to work with local schools, and offer more part-time degree courses to local people who may not meet conventional university entry requirements.

View from Platform 12: The main academic building, from the station behind the hi-tech innovators in Bristol; if London doubled its productivity, Bristol would still keep its first place, he said.

The Engine Shed at Temple Meads is one of the world’s most successful business incubators.

Hi-tech firms, often a spin-off from university research, start with one or two people.

When these start-ups expand they often want to stay rooted in the harbourside and Temple Meads area, where there is a pool of hi-tech expertise.

Already announced for the campus is a £43m Quantum Technologies centre in the new field of quantum computing.

leading into Temple Meads station from the campus.

PARKING AND TRAFFIC THE CAMPUS for 3,000 students and several hundred academics has virtually no parking except for disabled spaces. Students and staff will be strongly encouraged not to drive there, said the university team.

“Totterdown is already used as a park and ride,” said Tresa director Rebecca Mear. Residents sometimes can’t park anywhere near their homes and emergency vehicles can’t get through, she said.

Prof Cliff said he lived in

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THE university could put its expertise behind research to find solutions to some of the problems that new developments will bring to Totterdown and South Bristol, Prof Pancost said.

He was responding to a plea to do something about the number of lorries using the A37 as a short cut through Bristol.

Prof Pancost said he thought there would be lots of students who would love to look into issues if it seemed research could show benefits to the community.

Before construction can begin, the council has to demolish the sorting office and clear a possible cholera burial site underneath.

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A TRANSPORT HUB ONE OF the attractions of the Temple Meads site is that it is next to a major railway station, soon to be redeveloped (though Brunel’s Grade I listed buildings are protected). The new Metrobus and road changes will help make the campus an easy place to get to by public transport. The university is viewing it as “car free”.

The university is talking to the council and Network Rail about transport issues, said Mr Bradshaw. It’s hoped to open up new walkways, including along the harbour, and to have a tunnel

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n NEWS

Arena: New sites on cards THE CHANCES of the Bristol arena being built next to Temple Meads are receding after mayor Marvin Rees asked consultants to look at alternative sites.

The giant disused aircraft hangars at Filton are being touted as the most likely new location.

For most of the year, the council has been talking to its contractor, Buckingham Group, trying to pare down costs to meet its £123.5 million budget. It now appears to have turned away from plans for a cut-price arena, believing that a smaller or less flexible venue won’t be a success.

The arena that was granted planning permission in April 2016 can hold 12,000 people for major concerts but can also stage ice shows, smaller concerts and theatre events. “Building the arena to its current design on the proposed site remains highly likely to cost significantly more than the budget available,” the council said. An arena review by

consultants KPMG has now been widened by the mayor to look at alternative venues, different designs and the possibility of private financing.

Both the KPMG report and the talks with Buckingham are expected to be finished in December. The cabinet will debate the findings in January.

In theory, this leaves the mayor on track to open an arena in 2020.

However, if new plans are needed, further delays seem likely.

Former mayor George Ferguson was the prime mover behind siting the arena at Temple Meads. Moving it would be “madness”, he has said.

Filton’s old airfield could swallow an arena and leave room for parking – something in short supply at Temple Meads. Filton is also close to a Metrobus route and Parkway station. But it is in South Gloucestershire, meaning Bristol city council will not reap rewards such as business rates.

Journey times Cribbs Causeway to UWE Long Ashton Park & Ride to Temple Meads Emersons Green to Broadmead Hengrove Park to Prince Street Bedminster to UWE City Centre to Aztec West

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routes, they will be impressed.

The double-decker buses to be used on the new route by First Bus are ready. The first vehicles will be diesel-powered but because they meet the latest Euro6 standard they are said to emit the same level of pollution as a small car. Within two years, the buses will be upgraded to be less polluting, either by use of electric hybrids, or biogas.

The route from Ashton Vale to Temple Meads is the only Metrobus route to have a guided busway. The bus will run inside a concrete track, its path controlled by guide wheels, and will behave

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southbristolvoice

13

n NEWS

Metrobus delayed, Continued from Page 1 latest delay. The buses had been due to start rolling in the autumn, then in September the rollout was delayed until the New Year.

“I’m really disappointed because I think the longer it’s left the more people are going to be cynical about it,” said Cllr Bradshaw. He said that when he was cabinet member for transport, until earlier this year, he was assured that the technology for the iPoints was in hand and was going to work.

But he believes that when the service begins, and people see how easy it is to travel and change

December 2017

Now 40min 23min 40min 44min 41min 44min

Metrobus 30min 17min 29min 30min 30min 37min

To book your place, or to join our re-sales mailing list, call 0117 919 4267.

METROBUS

‘but it’ll be worth the wait’ THE FARES MAXIMUM fares on Metrobus: Up 3 miles Adults £1.50 Children £0.75 3-6 miles Adults £2.50 Children £1.25 6+ miles Adults £3.50 Children £1.75

Direct route: A doubledecker guided bus in use in Cambridge, which operates a similar system to the Bristol Metrobus

• Concessionary travelcards will be accepted. as if it was on tracks. This means it can keep to higher speeds, with no other traffic to worry about, on the guided route from Ashton Vale to the flyover at Winterstoke Road, and over Ashton Avenue bridge to Cumberland Road.

From there it will largely follow conventional bus lanes to Temple Meads and the city centre.

Metrobus has been much criticised for delays, for going

PHOTO: Bob Castle/Wikimedia

over budget by £30m, and for not serving enough areas. Mayor Marvin Rees and his predecessor, George Ferguson both hinted they would not have chosen the route they have inherited.

However, its backers claim that once it starts work the service will be appreciated for quicker journeys, as it is in cities such as Cambridge.

Metrobus claims the 17km of

new bus lanes, plus the redesign of the city centre which helps prevent bottlenecks, has halved some journey times. Driving from the end of the M32 to Anchor Road used to take 13 minutes in the morning peak; it now takes six minutes, it’s claimed.

Bus timetables will be changed in the New Year because the new bus lanes have

MORE ROUTES TO COME THE Ashton Vale to Temple Meads/city centre route should start in March or April.

By then, we should know when routes to Hengrove, Cribbs Causeway and Emersons Green will begin.

Already four new Metrobus routes are being planned. One of its advantages over a tram is that routes can be extended and interchanges designed much more easily.

New routes are suggested along the A4 to Keynsham, to Yate, to Thornbury, and an orbital route around the city. “dramatically improved journey times for bus services that travel through the centre”.

Metrobus will cut some journey times by up to a third (see panel, left). This is because of the guided, traffic-free busway, and buses getting priority at junctions. There will be shorter waits to board, because all tickets are bought at the iPoints, online or at shops, not on the bus.

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n NEWS

December 2017

n NEWS

New roads and rail for South Bristol in £6.5m study by the West’s new mayor VALE VILLAGES PLAN FAILS TO DIE DESPITE SOMERSET OPPOSITION A PROPOSAL for three new villages next to Long Ashton, on Bristol’s Green Belt, is still on the cards even though it’s been left off the region’s joint spatial plan.

Taylor Wimpey wants to build around 4,500 homes in three “villages” with schools and community facilities. It is calling the area The Vale.

The land is in North Somerset, whose council is firmly against the idea.

North Somerset is not part of the new West of England Combined Authority, (Weca), but it has signed up to the region’s 105,000 target for new homes by 2036. North Somerset wants to

build new estates at Banwell, Churchill, Backwell and Nailsea rather than on the Green Belt.

However, Taylor Wimpey says it will ask a governmment inspector for the 305-hectare site to be excluded from the Green Belt.

Strangely, there is more support for The Vale inside Bristol than outside it. The Voice has heard the plan given guarded support by Bristol politicians, who believe it makes more sense to have new homes close to the transport links and infrastructure of the city, rather than putting them out in the countryside.

The Vale site stretches from Long Ashton Park & Ride, spans the South Bristol Link road, taking in Woodspring golf club and stretching almost to the Barrow Gurney reservoirs.

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December 2017

New airport links and South Bristol orbital road may be on the cards PROPOSALS by the new West of England Combined Authority (Weca) could bring about new rapid transit systems along the Bath Road through South Bristol, and from the city to Bristol airport.

These are among two potential schemes being examined in a £6.5m investment to look at the feasibility of a range of transport and housing schemes – several of which will affect South Bristol.

No details are available of exactly where any of the new transport schemes or homes would go, and each will take many years before they become reality.

But Weca mayor Tim Bowles, elected in May, has two main goals. He wants to build 105,000 homes across the region of Bristol, Bath & North East Somerset, and South Gloucestershire, by 2036.

The region also needs to spend more than £7.5bn on transport infrastructure in the same period – twice the amount being spent at the moment.

The schemes being considered

OBJECTIONS TO HENGROVE HOMES HENGROVE residents are objecting to council plans to build between 1,700 and 2,000 homes on Hengrove Park.

“Development proposals for Hengrove Park were meant to include a large high quality park.

Instead new development options double the number of houses, covering most of the park and leaving only land that can’t be developed,” said Andrew Gamlin, co-chair of Hengrove and Whitchurch neighbourhood planning forum. A 2014 local plan envisaged 1,000 homes.

“The consultation timeline is too short and far less than when

for their viability include: MetroBus orbital route Bristol city council will lead a £250,000 study on a Metrobus route between Whitchurch and Hengrove.

There could be a Park & Ride at Whitchurch and a link to the A38 to Bristol Airport.

New route to the airport Bristol airport could double in size, but is being held back by poor transport links. A rail or rapid transit link, maybe with underground sections, will be examined in a £350,000 study by Bristol city council.

Temple Meads A revamp is long overdue and £2m will be spent looking at options for new platforms and a tunnel link to the new Bristol university campus.

A4 corridor Bath & NES council will spend £460,000 looking at improvements to the A4 between Bath and Bristol. A new link from the A4 Keynsham bypass to the A4174 ring road could cut traffic on Hicks Gate roundabout. There could also be a link between the A4 and A37, and the Hicks Gate Park & Ride could be moved.

Hengrove Bristol city council plans 1,500 homes at Hengrove. It will spend £800,000 looking at improving William Jessop Way and new junctions at Hengrove Way and Bamfield. building a house or extension,” said Mr Gamlin.

The plan also lacks community facilities. “South Bristol has been neglected for many years with pressure on health centres, schools and nurseries, and Hengrove library is to be axed,” said Mr Gamlin.

The forum has drawn up an alternative master plan which shows 1,400 homes, a large park and community facilities.

It also warns that transport links will not cope with the new homes. “The existing infrastructure just will not cope. The Metrobus alone will not be the saviour of South Bristol’s transport needs.”

• Facebook: Hengrovewhitchurchpnpforum

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

southbristolvoice

Shadow health secretary hits out over pharmacy cutbacks THE MAN who would be in charge of the NHS if Labour was in government visited a South Bristol chemist’s to draw attention to the cuts he says will pile extra pressure on the health service this winter.

Jonathan Ashworth, Labour’s shadow health secretary, was visibly impressed when he saw the range of services at Bedminster Pharmacy, which has won more awards than any other chemist in the UK in the last year.

“Congratulations on wining all those awards,” Mr Ashworth told owner Ade Williams. “I have been hearing how you and your team go out into pubs offering to check people’s blood pressure.

“We know there’s a large cohort of people out there who don’t know they need support.”

Richard Brown, chair of Avon’s Local Pharmaceutical Committee (LPC), said Bristol pharmacies are already closing from cuts in government support.

The Lloyds chain has shut 190 shops nationwide.

He said some owners are “clinging on and using their savings” to keep their shops open.

But if only pharmacies can get support for health prevention work – like sexual health and stopping smoking – they can keep people out of hospital and reduce pressure on the rest of the NHS, he said. Like many chemists, Bedminster Pharmacy delivers prescriptions free – an important service for those who

15

Jonathan Ashworth MP finds out how pharmacies can help keep homes warm from Ade Williams.

Being cold leaves us vulnerable to illness find it hard to get about.

Again like many other pharmacies, it also offers free advice on health problems, from sprains to coughs, and will advise if a visit to a doctor is necessary.

Unusually, Bedminster Pharmacy also offers help in staying warm, backed by Bristol’s Centre for Sustainable Energy.

Being cold in your home is not healthy, but the centre can offer a range of ways to cut energy bills and make your home warmer.

Mr Ashworth said: “Pharmacies play a crucial role in our community. However under the Tories pharmacies are under threat. Hundreds of millions of pounds of Government funding has been cut from pharmacy budgets and the result is many branches across the country could be at risk.

“If community pharmacies have to leave our high street or reduce the services they offer, it

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will lead to more pressure on GP practices and A&E departments.

“We all know how much pressure A&E is under. We had a very difficult winter last year and all the experts are predicting another difficult winter for the NHS this year.”

Films and fun for Christmas CHILDREN are invited to get creative for Christmas with South Bristol’s children’s theatre and arts group, Brave Bold Drama.

At a Christmas Creativity Day on Monday December 18 from 11am-3pm, anyone can drop in and try making Christmas cards, decorations and gifts. It costs £2 for the first child, £1 for siblings.

On Thursday December 21 from 10.30am-3pm, there’s a screening of The Polar Express and train-themed crafts.

And on Friday December 22 from 11am-3pm, there’s a Crafty Christmas Fair, with handmade gift stalls, face-painting, Christmas photo booth, seasonal music from the Hartcliffe and Withywood Choir and a visit from Santa!

The events are at Creative Workspace, in Queens Road, Withywood BS13 8LG, which has a café selling drinks, snacks, homemade cake and lunches.

Facebook: Brave Bold Drama

Celebrate Christmas at your local church WINDMILL HILL

CHURCH OF CHRIST – Jesus is Alive! St John’s Lane Sun Dec 10: 1.30pm Children’s Christmas Party Sun Dec 17: 5pm Carol Service Sun Dec 24: Christmas Eve Devotions: 10am Bible Hour, 11am Breaking of Bread, 5pm Devotional Mon Dec 25: 2pm Community Christmas Dinner – Don’t be alone for Christmas! Spaces limited, book now!

Mon Jan 1: 10.30am New Year’s Day Service For details, contact Jason 07795 560990.

ST MICHAEL’S & ALL ANGELS, Windmill Hill BS3 4LW Sun Dec 10: 5pm Christingle Service Sun Dec 17: 6.30pm Carols by Candlelight Mon Dec 18: 6.30pm carols in Victoria Park Sun Dec 24: 5pm Christmas Eve Crib Service, 11.15pm Midnight Communion Mon Dec 25: 10am Christmas Day Family Service VICTORIA PARK BAPTIST CHURCH, Sylvia Avenue Sun Dec 3: 10.30am Blue Christmas Sun Dec 10: 10.30am Christingle Service Sun Dec 17: 10.30am Family Advent Service Sun Dec 24: 10.30am Family Christmas Eve Carol Service Sun Dec 24: 6.30pm Carols by Candlelight Mon Dec 25: 10.30am Christmas Day Family Service

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

December 2017

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n NEWS

*More pictures on the Voice website

FRONT ROOM ART TRAIL*

Cli on High School co-educa onal nursery school to sixth form

Year 7 Entrance Examinations: Saturday 13th and 20th January 2018

Emily of disabled group Artists First; right, photographer Helen Rattin

December 2017

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n NEWS World’s only berry maze takes fruit AFTER months of hard work, the Malago Greenway Berry Maze is a reality.

November 17 saw dozens of volunteers take the final step – planting more than 230 soft fruit plants which will eventually grow into a maze up to 4m tall.

Bristol South MP Karin Smyth was one of those lending a hand.

Though she admitted she is not naturally green-fingered, under instruction from organiser Raluca McKett she planted a jostaberry – a cross between a blackcurrant and a gooseberry.

Ms Smyth declared herself truly impressed with the project.

She heard how the volunteers have overcome several obstacles over the year. Some vandalism has been repaired, and even the discovery that the ground was full of buried car parts didn’t stop work. Members of the Good Gym

Can you help a child to read?

We did it! From left, organiser Raluca McKett, Cllr Jon Wellington, Liam Blackford, Jackie Smith, Karin Smyth MP and Tom and Patrick Rainey shifted tons of rubble from the plot off Marksbury Road – site of a former scout hut which burned down about 40 years ago.

The area has been negelected ever since and became a prime spot for flytipping. It’s hoped the

new project will encourage people to take pride in the area.

Raluca believes it is the only maze planted with soft fruit in the world – she can’t find any others anywhere on the internet.

• Facebook: @TheBerryMaze2017

ONE IN four of all children leave primary school unable to read well – but there’s something that can be done about it.

Volunteers are being sought to listen to pupils read in primary schools in South Bristol, to help them become confident readers and, above all, to enjoy books.

A group called RSVP (Retired and Senior Volunteer Programme) is holding a briefing for those interested, at the Tobacco Factory bar-café at 10.15am on Tuesday December 19.

It’s part of the regular meeting of BS3 Helping Others.

• Facebook: BS3 Helping Others

Wild winners THE WINNERS of the My Wild Bedminster children’s and schools art competition, sponsored by Hunters estate agents, will be announced in the January edition of the Voice.

SELLING THE FINEST FISH, ETHICALLY SOURCED

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

252b North Street, Southville BS3 1JA www.bristolfish.com 07902 293312

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

December 2017

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n YOUR LOCAL CHRISTMAS GUIDE Do you want to make Christmas a bit more personal? Give your money to a local business, and buy something unique?

Of course you do – so here’s our guide to some of the best gifts and treats around Grenville Wick

Cards, gifts and more GRENVILLE Wick have a lovely range of bodycare products from Bath House and Somerset Toiletries, plus a thoughtfullychosen collection of handmade jewellery from Carrie Elspeth, including bracelets, necklaces and earrings. Meanwhile local history fans will be delighted by the wide range of Bristol history and local interest book titles.

Gift bags, gift wrap, tags and bows complement the gift range and there is a large range of cards

ADVERTISING FEATURE

‘Tis the season to celebrate Wide selection: North Street’s Grenville Wick is offering six Christmas cards for the price of five this December

for all occasions. The shop is open seven days a week.

Join the Grenville Wick Card Club, and get every 6th card purchased FREE to the value of £2.99 – this will also apply to the full range of Christmas cards. A real saving!

253 North Street, Bedminster BS3 1JN; 0117 378 1485

Join the Grenville

Windmill Hill City Farm café & shop

Philip Street, Bedminster WINDMILL Hill City Farm Café is getting stocked up for Christmas with all sorts of festive treats on offer throughout December.

The new café is much bigger

and brighter than the old one and on the menu you will find a Christmas twist on the farm’s own sausage rolls – featuring cranberries, walnuts, mushrooms and chestnuts, alongside homemade mince pies dusted with icing sugar.

There is a new hot drinks menu, with lots of winter surprises, including chai and a chilli hot chocolate. Just ask at the counter for the day’s specials.

In the farm shop you’ll be able to order ham from Sandridge Farm for collection just before Christmas, and a lovely homegrown medlar jelly glaze to go on top. They’ll also be selling homemade stuffing (meat and veggie), fresh organic veg, Jess’s Ladies’ Extra Thick double cream for your Christmas trifle, and lots of homemade and home-grown foodie gifts, such as chutneys, hampers, and cookies.

There will be Christmas trees for sale in the farmyard, and the farm volunteers are already

Wick Card Club ... and save on Christmas Cards!

Get every 6th card FREE!* * Up to the value of £2.99, or pay the difference

Grenville Wick

253 North Street, Bedminster BS3 1JN To advertise, contact sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk or Ruth on 07590 527664

December 2017

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n YOUR LOCAL CHRISTMAS GUIDE

19 ADVERTISING FEATURE

South Bristol’s creativity at Christmas WIN A LAMPSHADEMAKING WORKSHOP

Lunar Apple: Hand-printed cards starting work on beautiful, natural Christmas wreaths to sell at the Christmas Fair on December 9.

To find out what else is happening at the Christmas Fair, have a look at the advert below.

• windmillhillcityfarm.org.uk

Lunar Apple

Unique prints on paper and fabric JANE Appleton is an illustrator/ designer based in Bristol, specialising in screen printing hand-drawn images onto paper and fabric. Inspiration comes from her fondness for 1950s and 1960s children’s books, posters and packaging design.

Initially she sketches an idea in pencil before hand-drawing the final image using a fine line marker pen. Most designs are then photocopied onto acetate, exposed onto a silk screen and printed using water-based inks onto fabric or paper.

• Instagram: lunarappledesign • Facebook: lunarappledesign

Summat Special: family group The new café at Windmill Hill City Farm is bright and spacious including pet portraits – to suit a range of budgets.

Everything is crafted from merino and Bergschaf wool and each creation has its own unique character. There’s lots to see on Jess’s etsy shop, with items ready to post, but if you don’t see what you want she can also take custom requests.

For more information about the full range, and for details of local events Jess will be attending, have a look on Facebook, etsy or give Jess a call on 07596 455323.

• etsy.com/uk/shop/JJFeltCrafty • facebook: CraftieJJ

JJ Felt Crafty: art made of wool

HANNAH Redden runs her interior styling business from Southville, creating stylish lampshades, soft furnishings and recycling as much as possible.

“Sourcing secondhand is my favourite way to save money and the world! I am committed to re-purposing and preventing landfill by reusing or recycling items,” she says.

Hannah also runs soft furnishing workshops throughout Bristol. To be in with a chance of winning a free space on a lampshade-making workshop in 2018, sign up to Hannah’s mailing list on her website by the end of December.

Lampshade-making classes run at the SouthBank club in Dean Lane, Southville, among other locations.

• hannahredden.co.uk

Bemmie

Quirky art with a Bristol twist BEMMIE is Robin and EmmaJane Richards, who make their creations on their dining room table in St John’s Lane.

The pair hail from the island of St Helena, and some of their colourful posters celebrate their homeland. But they’ve adopted Bemmie as their name, and the couple’s striking Bristol posters, prints and calendars are now on sale in several locations.

Continued overleaf

Join the

JJ Felt Crafty

Felt wall art and keepsakes JESS is a needle felt artist based in Bedminster. She creates keepsakes, accessories and art –

JJ Felt Crafty

CARDS AND HAND-PRINTED GIFTS

Wall art and keepsakes made with love

etsy.com/uk/shop/JJFeltCrafty CraftieJJ

www.etsy.com/uk/shop/LunarApple www.instagram.com/lunarappledesign

07596 455323

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

December 2017

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n YOUR LOCAL CHRISTMAS GUIDE

ADVERTISING FEATURE

December 2017

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n YOUR LOCAL CHRISTMAS GUIDE

21

ADVERTISING FEATURE

WIN A SOLD-OUT BRISTOL ADVENT CALENDAR! THERE’S probably never been an advent calendar as stylish – or as Bristolian – as the Bristol Advent Calendar made by Bemmie.

It’s sold out in the shops but we have two to give away to readers who can tell us: Where do Bemmie’s Robin and Emma-Jane come from?

Answers, with your name, address, email and phone number to paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk or 18 Lilymead Avenue, Bristol BS4 2BX by December 3. Printing dates mean we couldn’t offer this prize earlier but we will get it to you as quick as we can!

WILL YOU GIVE A PRESENT TO A LESS FORTUNATE CHILD?

Bemmie: Bristol wrapping paper

Upfest: Artist Jody and one of North St’s set pieces PHOTO: Neil James Brain (shock) other far-flung places such as Bath and Cardiff.

• etsy.com/uk/shop/ BemmiesBazzar • bemmie.co.uk Stitching Me Softly: Baby fashion

Bristol Voice.pdf The Bemmie Advent Calendar

1

Summat Special: Family group

Continued from page 19 You can even buy their designs as a printable calendar., and there’s Bemmie wrapping paper too. Other subjects include 11/11/2017 12:51 dog portraits, cyclists and

Stitching Me Softly

Super-soft crochet items for baby STITCHING Me Softly was born early this year, after the birth of Emma Bassey’s third daughter.

She says: “After struggling to find accessories in the colours and style I wanted I decided to create some of my own. I try to use materials that not only look great but are super-soft next to baby’s skin, and easy to keep clean.”

The result is a range of super-soft crochet items from baby boots to bonnets, blankets and playmats, some plain and some with striking designs.

All items are made to order, and if you don’t see what you want online, contact Emma.

• etsy.com/shop/stitchingmesoftly • Instagram: stitching_me_softly

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Summat Special Crafts

Personalised wooden peg families and keepsakes SUMMAT Special, based in Knowle, makes crafts to treasure, like personalised wooden pegs of your family – a beautiful unique

keepsake. Also available are famous faces, children’s favourites and pets. How about a wooden spoon with a little white rabbit and your child’s name as a christening memento? Ruth’s imagination is endless, and she accepts commissions.

• Facebook: Summat SpecialCrafts • instagram: summatspecialcrafts • Email: ruth@themalago.net

Upfest

Affordable street art

198 North Street, Bedminster IT’S HARD to believe that a small gathering of artists back in 2008 would have led to the creation of Europe’s largest street art festival. However, almost 10 years on, the dedication of the Upfest Crew, many volunteers and hundreds of artists has put Bedminster on the international arts calendar.

Attracting talent from more than 40 countries, the festival played host to a record 350 artists last July. One in three were from our city, representing the amazing talent that Bristol has to offer.

This December the Upfest Gallery will feature affordable artworks and gifts, many of which are based on the murals

which have adorned the walls of North Street and the surrounding area. Support the continuation of the festival and its artists this Christmas and pay the gallery a visit, or check it out online.

• upfest.co.uk

Tamrakar

Handmade jewellery, gifts and clothing 1 North Street, Bedminster TAMRAKAR is an independent jeweller’s with a difference: everything inside draws on Nepalese and Indian tradition and skills passed down the generations.

Every piece of solid silver jewellery is made in the UK or

Tamrakar: Bags and accessories and clothing as well as silver jewellery imported from craftspeople in Nepal. The name Tamrakar itself means “a shaper of copper”. Originally it was the name of a clan whose members were known for their fine workmanship.

Shop owner Bijendra started as a silversmith when he was 17 and he has also trained his two brothers. Tamrakar has a dazzling variety of one-off pieces

with semi-precious stones set in silver. It’s very affordable for such unique, and fairly-traded, jewellery but as an extra temptation, Tamrakar is offering 10 per cent off to readers who bring in the Voice advertisement.

Tamrakar also sells accessories and clothing. If you can’t get to the shop, you can order the jewellery online.

• tamrakar.co.uk

• Handmade, Fairly Traded, Solid Silver Jewellery • Unique Gifts and Clothing • Jewellery Repairs • Jewellery made to Order

10% OFF TO READERS SHOWING THIS ADVERT!

1 North Street, Bedminster BS3 1EN 0117 963 9851 • email info@tamrakar.co.uk

CY

CMY

K

Bangles, bracelets, earrings and pendants Each piece is a lovingly made one-off, with individually designed handmade solid silver settings and polished semi-precious stones. The subtleties and differences in stones, decoration and tooling give each piece its own character.

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

EVERY Child Needs Christmas is a campaign which delivers thousands of presents to local children who are in difficult circumstances.

Anyone can help – just buy a gift for around £5, for one of these age ranges: under one, 1-3, 3-5, 5-7, 7-10, and 10-16 years.

Drop it off at one of the drop-off points below, or consult the Facebook page for more.

Or you can follow the links to the Amazon wishlist, and order from there. The campaign has grown from delivering 700 gifts to 5,000 across the BS postcode area in five years.

DROP OFFS: Bedminster Mr Milton (evening preferred), 16 Greylands Road, Uplands BS13 8BE Whitchurch/Knowle Mrs Arshad, Cumberland House, 133 West Town Lane BS14 9EF City centre Nat West, 32 Corn Street BS1 1HQ, UK • Facebook: Every Child Needs Christmas

The Tamrakar story began over 20 years ago. With 500 rupees (about £5) invested by his uncle, Bijendra Tamrakar set about forming his own business.

The name Tamrakar means shaper of copper, a clan which is renowned for its craftsmanship and traditional skill. Bijendra trained as a silversmith from the age of 17, and once his craft was perfected he taught his two brothers Gyanendra and Dipesh.

Tamrakar is proud to offer a unique range of beautiful, fairly traded, hand-crafted solid silver jewellery which is either imported from Nepal or made in the UK.

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

December 2017

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n TRAVEL

n NEWS Guide dogs looking for student digs in trendy BS3

A jetaway you may

COULD you offer a temporary home to a Guide Dog puppy?

Guide Dogs for the Blind are looking for volunteers in Ashton and Bedminster to look after trainee dogs while they complete their advanced training.

Volunteer boarders are given training, and all food and vets bills are paid for by the charity.

The young dogs need to experience different environments and volunteers may be asked to take their dog into their workplace.

Rachael MacLoughlin, volunteering consultant for Guide Dogs said, “Volunteering as a boarder is an extremely rewarding role for those who love dogs and are perhaps not ready to take on the responsibility for one 24/7. This is also a great

Ruth Drury finds that Frankfurt is about more than banking and Christmas markets

F

Crashpad: Guide dogs in training need somewhere to rest their heads after a hard day’s learning opportunity for those who work full-time, because our dogs are in training during the day from Monday to Friday.”

If you’re interested, visit the website and look for your postcode under the ‘volunteer with us’ section, or call the charity on 0118 983 8722.

• guidedogs.org.uk

Lee’s clean-up offer in memory of his mum A CARPET cleaner from Ashton is making a special offer to customers this Christmas, in memory of his mum Susan, who passed away from cancer.

Lee Moore, from Hedgers Close in Ashton, is donating 20 per cent of his takings from his Christmas Clean Campaign to cancer charity Penny Brohn UK. Susan, 66, was first diagnosed with cancer 10 years ago, but she appeared to make a full recovery, Lee told the Voice.

However, in November 2016 the family were shocked to hear that she had been diagnosed with breast, lung and bone cancer.

She underwent chemotherapy but, to her family and friends’ shock, died on April 29 – three weeks after telling them it failed.

Penny Brohn UK offers courses in relaxation, cookery and all kinds of support for cancer patients, at its centre in Pill, and her husband Colin, 71, still visits its groups and community choir.

Their son Lee, who owns carpet cleaning company LDM

Services, launched his Christmas Clean to thank the charity.

Lee, 48, said: “We were all so shocked – mum showed symptoms, but it was all so fast.

“We were devastated when she said chemo had failed and mum was gone very quickly afterwards.

“She always spoke highly of Penny Brohn’s support and Dad still uses their free services, enjoying being with people going through similar circumstances.

“I wanted to do something to thank them for everything they’ve done – mum truly enjoyed her time there.”

Lee will clean two domestic rooms, stairs, landing and hallway for £65, inside the BS postcode area, with 20 per cent going to the charity if residents quote “Penny Brohn”.

Commercial properties are by quotation, and the campaign runs until January 31.

To find out more, call Lee on 07968 546566, email info@ ldm-services.com or visit • ldm-services.com

RANKFURT is the biggest financial centre in continental Europe.

Though it’s long been known for its traditional Christmas markets, it is becoming an increasingly popular weekend destination. Shops, churches, a mile of museums, contemporary art galleries, skyscrapers, guided tours, pastries, sausage and beer are just some of the delights.

Getting there You can fly direct to Frankfurt from Bristol with airlines including BMI in roughly 1.5 hours. Frankfurt airport is clean, efficient and close to the city centre.

Staying there We stayed at the

Maritim hotel which is the perfect location for visiting an exhibition at the Frankfurter Messe, just a few paces away. The rooms are spacious, modern and clean with bathroom essentials plus a robe to relax in. Beds are comfortable although soft so beware those with bad backs!

Breakfast is a must-have – smoked salmon, champagne, cooked items, and continental treats are among the options. We also ate in one of the three hotel restaurants, Classico, where we tasted a range of international dishes including delicious gnocchi and crème brulee.

Getting around It was easy to walk from the hotel to the tram line or the underground stations and travel the city for only a couple of euros, which we did with relative ease. If you struggle to follow the underground map, just ask! Everyone we met was extremely friendly.

Things to do Try a walking tour of the city. Our guide told

Bringing High Street travel direct to you Introducing Bedminster’s brand new independent travel service:

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Email charlotte.hingston @travelcounsellors.com Phone 07982 829 867 0117 405 7570

Unlike a normal High Street agency, Charlotte Hingston Travel Counsellors likes to make things a little more personal. Whether that be a family fun holiday in Spain, cruising the Caribbean sea or experiencing the bustling cities of South East Asia, your trip should be about you.

December 2017

n TRAVEL

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A NEW FEATURE TO GET YOU OUT AND ABOUT

not have thought of (¨

WIN A JOURNEY TO THE AIRPORT THERE’S nothing that can ease the worry of making your flight on time than knowing that your transport to the airport is taken care of.

The Voice is offering a free one-way transfer with Club Cars from the BS3 area to Bristol Airport to one lucky reader. Club Cars is a specialist at airport travel and fares

to Bristol airport start at just £18.

To make life easier, they accept debit and credit cards.

Just tell us: Where are Club Cars based? Answers to paul@ southbristolvoice.co.uk or 18 Lilymead Avenue, Bristol BS4 2BX,

by December 12.

• Transfer is for up to four people.

Employees of the Voice and Club Cars, and their families, not eligible.

Editor’s decision is final.

CLUB CARS

Frankfurt: Historic Romer Platz is one of many great places to wander us some of Frankfurt’s history: many buildings have been made to look old, as much of the centre was destroyed during WWII. Yet the city is beautiful and there’s a lovely public square, Romer Platz, filled with beer taverns, souvenir shops and a well-known patisserie whose apple strudel leaves the mouth watering.

If you are feeling brave you can get some superb views across

Top 5 things to do this winter in Frankfurt 1. Christmas markets run until December 22 at Römerberg, St Paul’s Square, Mainkai (Main Quay), Hauptwache and Friedrich Stoltze Square 2. Attend a church mass – a truly memorable experience 3. Visit the famous patisseries 4. Visit the apple wine district for bratwurst and schnitzel 5. Drink some more Cokeweissbier!

the city from the top deck of the 240m Main Tower for around £7.

Ways to relax The rest of our weekend was spent shopping, eating, drinking and being merry with tasters of schnitzel with the traditional green sauce made from seven herbs (worth a try), very drinkable German beers everywhere you looked, including Coke-Weissbier (that’s Coke mixed with white beer!), and a night spent in the Maritim bar enjoying the magic, laughs and dance skills of their in-house cabaret artiste Jerry.

• Ruth Drury was a guest of Maritim Hotels.

• maritim.com

FLYING TO FRANKFURT BMI REGIONAL flies up to three times daily between Bristol and Frankfurt. Fares start from £96 one way and include 23kg hold luggage, allocated seating, complimentary drinks and snacks, and 30 minute check-ins.

• flybmi.com

AIRPORT TRAVEL SET FARES AS LOW AS

£18

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PUTTING OUR CUSTOMERS FIRST

DOWNLOAD OUR APP!

0117 966 66 33 www.c lub c a rsb ristol .co.uk 76 North Street, Southville We accept all major Credit & Debit cards

We’re an independently owned and operated business right here in the heart of South Bristol and with 15 years experience in the travel industry we can plan your holiday from start to finish. What’s more we bring the agency to you! We offer face to face visits to plan your next adventure.

That way we can take the time to make sure your trip is exactly as you want it.

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

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southbristolvoice

December 2017

Would you like to feel more connected to your community?

December 2017

n FEATURES

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TOTTERDOWN’S INDEPENDENT PUBLISHER

Tangent Books is one of Bristol’s bestknown publishers, but its list of books doesn’t really make sense, its owner Richard Jones tells Beccy Golding

I

Community Navigators Bristol: a free service to help local people feel less isolated.

• North Bristol: Contact Laura We’ll help you discover what’s on 0117 951 5751 or on locally and give you the laura.t@northbristoladvice.org.uk confidence to take the first step, whether it’s meeting people, • South, central & east Bristol: rekindling hobbies, volunteering Contact Gemma on or learning something new.

0117 440 9100 or community.navigators@nhs.net The service is for people over 50. You can refer yourself or someone else. • communitynavigators.org.uk

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

NDEPENDENT publisher Richard Jones is from Kingswood originally and had no reason to come to South Bristol “unless it was on the way to Wells or something.”

It wasn’t until 1985, moving to a shared house in Richmond Street, Totterdown, that he “discovered a side of Bristol I didn’t know”, and he has lived south of the river ever since.

With his partner Maggie, he has lived in Totterdown, moved to Windmill Hill, then back to Totterdown. “We brought our kids up here – Caitlin was born in the bathroom at Cotswold Road, and Mena was born in the bathroom at Balmain Street!”

Richard’s journey to book publisher has been a steady graft.

He was an apprentice journalist at the Kingswood Gazette, then at the South Wales Evening Post.

Spells on the Western Daily Press and the Bristol Evening Post led to Bath’s Future Publishing, where he was senior editor for its footballl magazines. In 2002, still based in Bath, he set up Faragher Jones, a contract magazine publishing firm, with friend and colleague Steve Faragher. But they “wanted something we could have ownership of. And we thought there couldn’t be much difference between magazines and books.” So, in 2004 they set up Tangent Books, as a side-line.

“We discovered there are no similarities at all – it’s an entirely different industry!”

Tangent became Richard’s main focus when he bought a unit in Paintworks on Bath Road in 2007. “I saw it being built and heard good things.” Since then, his commute is “a 10-minute walk down through Arnos Vale

cemetery every morning – and 30 minutes wheezing up Thunderbolt steps on the way home – the steps of death!”

I asked him about the sort of books he publishes. “One of Tangent’s core values is to celebrate the counterculture alternative, radical culture in Bristol and beyond.” But, in some ways Tangent’s list makes no sense, Richard chuckled. “The only thing is that most books have a connection to Bristol, and a propensity for being about something I had a fleeting interest in at the time – they reflect my lack of focus.”

Perhaps a nicer way to say this is that he’s a bit of a polymath, or Renaissance man, with wide-ranging interests, and his fingers in many pies, including Blah Blah Blah – spoken word events at the Bristol Old Vic and Wardrobe Theatre, which started life as Word of Mouth at the Thunderbolt pub on Bath Road. He’s also joint founder of the Bristol Festival of literature, the Bristol Review of Books (now sadly defunct) and the Bristol Short Story Prize – “I suppose the connection is that

TOP 5 book picks from Tangent • First book: Naked Guide to Bristol, now in its 6th edition.

• Richard’s favourite: Unsettled by Graham Walker, a Big Issue seller.

• Local focus: Totterdown Rising, reprinted this year.

• Best seller: Banksy’s Bristol • Christmas tip: Vol 10 of Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology, featuring 20 writers.

• VOICE READER 20% DISCOUNT: enter code SBV in the discount box at tangentbooks.co.uk

Richard Jones: Tangent’s wide variety of books ‘reflect my lack of focus’

Publish and take a stand on something they are all to do with words.”

Richard has also been a key member of the Bearpit

Improvement Group (BIG). BIG coordinates initiatives to make the area, voted the single worst area in all of Bristol, safer and more welcoming. Richard is “particularly interested in the use of art in public spaces, as a way of changing the way people relate to the urban environment, as pioneered by the People’s Republic of Stokes Croft.”

And coming back to the present day, “it’s been a busy 2017, and I’ve just started production on the first title of 2018, The Women Who Built Bristol*, produced in partnership with Bristol Women’s Voice”.

Early next year there’ll also be two new music titles, including one on Massive Attack.

Now firmly rooted in South Bristol, Richard described the best things about the area as “the people, the sense of community, the slow regeneration of Wells Road, and Arnos Vale cemetery.”

As a radical, alternative route to work, it’s hard to beat. * Watch out for more on The Women Who Built Bristol in the Voice next year.

Fostering.

When the extraordinary happens.

Bristol City Council urgently needs more foster carers, to be there for over 700 children currently in care in Bristol.

Call the Bristol Family Placement Recruitment Team on 0117 353 4200 www.bristol.gov.uk/fostering fostering.adoption@ bristol.gov.uk /BristolFostering

Foster with Bristol City Council and make a real difference.

www.bristol.gov.uk/fostering

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

26

n PLANNING APPLICATIONS 261 Ashton Drive BS3 2PZ Two storey front extension.

Withdrawn The Grange, Parklands Road BS3 2JW Two car ports and garden walls. Withdrawn 19 Fairfield Road Southville BS3 1LG Single storey rear extension. Loft conversion with rear dormer roof extension and roof lights in front roof slope.

Granted 15 Parklands Road BS3 2JW Removal of side storeroom and rear conservatory, and erection of two storey side and rear extension. Refused Iceland, Unit B, South Retail Park, Wedlock Way BS3 2LQ New shopfront including biparting entrance doors and side screens. Internally illuminated signage: High-level sign front elevation, sign over entrance doors, sign to rear/side and replacement vinyls to two totem poles. Granted subject to conditions Telecoms Mast 1, C Bond, Clift House Road BS3 1RX Replacement of three antennas for three upgraded antennas on rooftop, and associated development. Granted subject to conditions Flat 3, 1 Stackpool Road BS3 1NG Dormer window to east elevation as part of loft conversion for first floor flat.

Refused Land to rear 48-52 Bedminster Parade BS3 4HS Three storey building to accommodate three

flats. Granted subject to conditions Former Bedminster library, St Peter’s Court, Bedminster Parade BS3 4AQ Change of use to gym, internal alterations including the installation of mezzanine levels, and external alterations. Pending consideration 57 St Dunstan’s Road BS3 5NZ Erection of three two storey dwellings, associated works and new entrance to side. Pending consideration 71 St Dunstan’s Road BS3 5NZ Two storey side extension with alterations to roof. Withdrawn 16 Parson Street BS3 5PT Conversion of basement area into a 1-bedroom flat. Pending consideration 18 Parson Street BS3 5PT Erection of two storey dwelling.

Pending consideration 34 Mansfield Street BS3 5PR Erection of a single-storey extension to rear. Pending consideration 39 Smyth Road BS3 2BU Single storey, side and rear extension. Pending consideration 60 Bower Road BS3 2LU Single storey rear extension to extend beyond the rear by 3.07 metres, of maximum height 3.98 metres with eaves 2.73 metres high. Refused 3 Clanage Road BS3 2JX Removal of two outbuildings and erection of single storey

December 2017

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Bedminster, Southville and Ashton extension adjoining north east side wall of the original building.

Pending consideration Plough and Windmill, 194 West Street, Bedminster BS3 3NB Details in relation to condition 12 (Landscape scheme) and 22 (Renewable energy) of permission 16/05234/F: Demolition of rear extensions and outbuildings; change of use and extension of the Plough and Windmill building for one 1-bedroom and six 2-bedroom flats, erection of three 3-bedroom dwellings; car and cycle parking; refuse and recycling store and ancillary development; and use of the ground floor for commercial/ community space within the use classes A1, A2, A3, B1(a) or D1.

Pending consideration 3 Southville Place BS3 1AW Change of use of 4-bedroom house in multiple occupation to 7-bedroom house in multiple occupation. Pending consideration 31-33 East Street, Bedminster BS3 4HH Non-material amendment following permission 17/00618/F: Conversion and extension of upper floors to form three flats, including new third floor and external alterations.

Now proposed internal alterations, change to rear windows and change to rear extension.

Pending consideration 71 Stackpool Road BS3 1NL Loft extension with side dormer and rooflights to front. Pending consideration York Buildings, York Road, Bedminster BS3 4AA Upgrade all timber windows to UPVC, all

external communal timber doors to aluminium and existing timber flat entrance doors to composite units. Pending consideration 83 Lime Road BS3 1LS Facade and internal alterations involving reinstatement of original garage to frontage and insertion of rear bifold doors. Pending consideration Land on corner of Herbert Street and Catherine Mead Street, Bedminster Details in relation to conditions 2 (Construction management), 3 (SUDS), 4 (Landscape), 5 (Drawings), 6 (Materials details), 7 (Lighting), 8 (Contamination), 9 (Remediation) and 10 (Implementation remediation) of permission 17/00305/F: Two blocks of terraced houses containing six 2-bedroom houses.

Pending consideration

southbristolvoice

27

S E n FEATURES M HO PEN OWW O H S NO

THE RAVAGING OF TOTTERDOWN

Stoke Gifford Retirement Village

An inspiring new

Retirement lifestyle Opening in late 2018, Stoke Gifford Retirement Village will give people over 55 an opportunity to enjoy an active lifestyle, in a home

Cutters Row, 126-138 York Road, Bedminster BS3 4AL Replacement of aluminium windows with new aluminium windows. Replace external communal timber doors with aluminium doors and upgrade external flat entrance doors with composite units. Pending consideration

Here the focus will be on staying as active and independent as possible in the company of like-minded friends and neighbours thanks to a host of outstanding social and leisure facilities and activities.

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

You’ve already got it -

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

An ExtraCare Charitable Trust Village

for Stoke Gifford

J Sainsbury, Winterstoke Road, Ashton BS3 2NS Refurbishment of petrol station, with three new 60k underground tanks, pipework and removal of 1 pump, reducing the site pump count from seven to six.

Pending consideration

Need more space?

www.doorexpresssouthwest.co.uk

December 2017

of their own, as part of a vibrant, supportive neighbourhood community.

Located to the east of Coldharbour Lane in Stoke Gifford, near to the University of the West of England campus, the village will have 261 comfortable new homes all boasting the latest safety and security features.

The ExtraCare Charitable Trust aims to ensure that opportunities to live at the village are affordable to all, and are offering these superb, state-of-theart retirement apartments for purchase, shared ownership or rent.

Village Show Homes Open for viewing Monday - Friday, 10am - 4pm.

Apartments available to purchase from

£139,975

*

*Subject to availability.

In addition, should you need care, now or in the future, it can be provided in the comfort of your own village home.

Come along and have a look around to discover everything this exciting new village has to offer.

Stoke Gifford Retirement Village, Off Coldharbour Lane, Stoke Gifford, Bristol BS16 1EJ For more information please call

0117 440 3570

or email stokegifford@extracare.org.uk

or online at www.stokegiffordvillage.co.uk

StokeGiffordVillage Charges will apply. Details of any costs associated with your home, care and village services will be provided as part of your application. The ExtraCare Charitable Trust, registered charity number 327816, is a company limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales as company number 2205136. Its registered office is at 7 Harry Weston Road, Binley Business Park, Binley, Coventry, CV3 2SN. Copyright © 2017 - The ExtraCare Charitable Trust

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

December 2017

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28

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

Family

Co-parenting at Christmas Christmas is just round the corner, but for separated parents it can present a whole host of conundrums. In this article, Chris Miller, Managing Partner of Barcan+Kirby, considers co-parenting during the festive season.

Christmas can present childcare difficulties for ex-couples. Most separated parents won’t be celebrating the festive season together, but both will still want to see their children.

Share + share alike

It’s tempting to ignore this issue and hope it goes away, or to fall back on your usual co-parenting arrangements. However, this can often lead to last minute conflict and uncertainty – and the resulting arguments aren’t likely to lead to a harmonious Christmas break.

Some parents choose to do this by sharing out Christmas and Boxing Day, whilst others opt to let one parent have more time at Christmas in return for similar concessions for the other at New Year.

Christmas is always going to be a tricky time of year for separated and divorced parents. So if you’re struggling to agree co-parenting arrangements over Christmas, we have some tips for you.

Think ahead

When broaching the subject of Christmas with your ex-partner, don’t leave it until the last minute. It’s a lot easier to come to a rational and fair decision in advance rather than on 23rd December when you’re in full Christmas mode.

Be fair in how you divvy up contact time – accept that neither of you should have a monopoly on contact at Christmas and be willing to compromise accordingly.

Whatever you decide, remember to let your children’s other relatives know, particularly your own parents if you know they’re hoping to see their grandchildren.

Plan for future years

Once you’ve agreed an arrangement for this year, it’s sensible to make a long term plan so that the same problem doesn’t crop up every 12 months. Why not consider alternating Christmas and Boxing Day each year?

Talk to your children

Of course, before making a final decision about Christmas, you

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Write to paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk n NEWS LETTERS or to 18 Lilymead Avenue, BS4 2BX year”. True, it was listed at size of the UK, composed almost We must save New hands at number five in a Times property entirely of plastic waste. feature – but this numbering Unfortunately there are five seems intended merely to major gyres, as they are called, in Ashton Court the fish shop differentiate each listing rather our oceans around the planet.

IT’S VERY worryng to hear that Ashton Court might be at risk. I note that the council is closing its events business there because it can’t make a profit out of letting the house out for weddings and so on.

I have heard the wedding venue business is a competitive one and in that sense it’s not a surprise that, with such a big and expensive building to maintain, the council can’t make it pay.

That being the case, what is going to happen to Ashton Court? We cannot let it get boarded up because then it will deteriorate and it will probably attract the attention of vandals.

Thank heavens the Bristol Civic Society are getting involved.

I wish their campaign all the best. I do not think the council is any longer the ideal custodian for this precious building.

Of course saving the building then begs the question of what happens to the rest of the estate.

ME Smith, Southville

than signifying a relative merit rating. Beyond a heading calling all 20 the “best hip places to live”, thus putting the chosen areas above all others in the UK (did they really research every district in the country, and is coolness quantifiable anyway?), the Times does not comment on each district’s individual placing relative to others.

Finnieston, Glasgow, is No 1 in the list but does not seem to be singled out as the hippest UK neighbourhood. • thetimes.co.uk/ article/the-uks-20-hippestplaces-to-buy-jc6wk28px Meanwhile, one of Bedminster’s two Butt butchers’ shops is closing, and one staying open. As Little Britain comedy character Vicky Pollard would say: yeah Butt, no Butt.

Francis Harvey, Hotwells

Hip, but maybe not that much

AM SURE most people are aware of the disturbing extent of plastic pollution in our rivers, seas and oceans and often feel guilt and frustration at the needless plastic packaging that comes with almost everything we buy.

A floating “island” exists in the North Pacific, five times the

A FEATURE on Totterdown history in November’s issue of the Voice says the district is “the fifth hippest [in the UK], according to The Times last

Plastic Free Coastlines is a nationwide initiative that has been around for a while, started

by Surfers Against Sewage, which aims to dramatically reduce the use of plastic and encourage ocean-friendly habits, such as using refillable water bottles.

I will be working with the community to help raise awareness of the contributions that we can all make to reduce plastic pollution. I’ll also be arranging clean-ups similar to the very successful Avon Gorge Beach Clean in October.

Graham Coburn Totterdown/Knowle Plastic Free Coastlines Community Leader, Knowle • sas.org.uk/plasticfreecoastlines

A much more We can help rid homely aroma Spare time TO ALL our friends in the Totterdown community who seas of plastic IF YOU have thought about using have just celebrated Diwali, may

I

I wish you peace, health and happiness for the new year.

While walking my dog it was a joy to smell the fragrant aroma of festival food drifting through the open windows – and may I say it served to mask Totterdown’s omnipresent aroma of cannabis!

Thank you Diwali.

A Totterdown veteran

POLICE REPORT

I

T’S BEEN a busy few months.

Halloween and Bonfire Night is usually a very busy time for us, and this year was no different.

On the whole, both nights were successful from a policing perspective, with the number of incidents reported to us down on last year.

Nearly all officers from the neighbourhood team were on duty, carrying out high visibility patrols in Bedminster, which helped to reassure communities and ensure people could enjoy themselves safely. We seized several fireworks from young people in Dame Emily Park in Dean Lane and dispersal notices were given to leave the area for 24 hours. This made the whole

THE NEW hands at North Street’s fishmongers are promising to support the fishing industry of the South West by making their stock as local as possible.

Alan and Sam, who recently took on Bristol Fish Ltd at 252b North Street (the entrance is in Gathorne Road), have two decades of experience as fishmongers between them.

They stock mainly the products of the South West catch, such as fresh and smoked fish and shellfish, along with a selection of not-so-local fish like tuna and tiger prawns. They also have sashimi grade fish.

Providing fresh fish, supporting our local fishermen and buying from local suppliers, is important, they say.

Bristol Fish is open from Wednesday to Saturday.

season a lot more enjoyable for those who were out celebrating with their friends and families.

C

hristmas is almost here and no doubt many readers will be out and about Christmas shopping. If you do go out shopping, it’s wise not to return to your car to put shopping in the boot and then leave again, as we know thieves loiter in car parks waiting for you to do just that. Keep items like coats, clothing and even loose change out of sight in vehicles. And at home, keep presents hidden, and don’t leave packaging on display outside your house. Don’t forget, for crime prevention advice our

some spare time to help others, but don’t know where to start, the BS3 Helping Others Group can help. Members meet in the Tobacco factory bar-café every Tuesday at 10.15am to share information about volunteering opportunities in BS3. Look for the BS3 Helping Others sign.

• Facebook: BS3 Helping Others

With PCSO Charlotte Tait Broadbury Road police station Cop Shop will be open in the Galleries until December 23, from 9.30am-6pm.

W

e’ve had an increase in reports about parking problems around the Ashton Vale area. We are looking into solutions with Bristol city council’s parking services team. However, we need your help to support you. Please let us know about your experiences and concerns regarding parking by emailing us: GreaterBedminsterNPT@ avonandsomerset.pnn.police.uk.

Following a successful campaign in Ashton Vale Road and a number of tickets being issued, we will be continuing our work in

the area to monitor the situation.

F

inally, do you know anyone who would be interested in volunteering with our Police Cadets? We have a cadet unit for the south of Bristol that runs on Mondays from 7-9pm at The Park centre on Daventry Road in Knowle. However, we need more volunteer cadet leaders. If you are interested please email policecadets@ avonandsomerset.police.uk for more information.

Wishing all the readers of the South Bristol Voice a happy and crime-free Christmas and New Year. See you next year!

PCSOs Claire Flower and Charlotte Tait

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

30

southbristolvoice

December 2017

December 2017

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n NEWS

Top marks for ending teachers’ tide of ink TEACHERS at Bedminster Down school have put away their red pens and are abandoning the traditional way of marking students’ work.

It’s a move that aims to give pupils more constructive help than simply telling them that an essay scored six out of 10.

Headteacher Gary Schlick said: “Recent research has shown that much of the marking that teachers do is unnecessary, burdensome and does not help students progress.

“Our new system is redirecting the energy that went into routine marking to giving a more personal approach that

Better effort: Teachers are using their time to help pupils instead of marking. Above, maths teacher Megan Arnold with a student helps us know more about any gaps in knowledge.

“As well as being able to give students more meaningful feedback we’ve removed one of

the barriers to helping teachers achieve a better work-life balance.”

No longer marking hundreds of books each week, the teachers at Bedminster Down are giving students more meaningful, motivational and constructive comments on their work, so they can focus more on planning lessons.

A government workload review found that 53 per cent of marking was unnecessary and excessive.

Teachers now evaluate work in three ways – live marking, impact marking and summative assessments.

Live marking is simply sitting with a student and talking through a piece of work, finding what has gone well and identifying areas for improvement.

Impact marking involves spotting any gaps in understanding so these can be dealt with in the next lesson.

Summative assessments are used to provide additional benchmarks for progress.

Baldrick’s Bristol encounter THE star of TV’s Blackadder and Time Team, Sir Tony Robinson, reveals some of Bristol’s historical secrets in a new DVD just released this week.

Titled Sir Tony Robinson’s Famed History of Bristol, the documentary was made 20 years ago and features landmarks including St Mary Redcliffe.

On a visit to the 800-year-old church, Sir Tony he meets up with his alter ego, Baldrick’s “old friend Queenie”. The film also includes footage of the secret tunnels and rivers under the city centre and a scene shot inside the pump room of the 18th century Hotwells Spa. The film also recaptures the occasion when The Matthew, the Bristol-built replica of John Cabot’s tiny ship that discovered Newfoundland, sails down the River Avon, out into the open sea for the first time.

• focusproductions.co.uk

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FOR FURTHER INFO AND TO BOOK FOR OUR SHOWS AND COURSES: oldvic.ac.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

December 2017

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ADVICE FROM A PHARMACIST Cold homes lead to bad health, but we can help

I

N THE winter months we see the highest loss of life, as people sadly succumb to long-term illness and also pick up infections.

The NHS’s Stay Well This Winter campaign aims to inform on ways to look after the health and wellbeing of you and your loved ones over the winter months.

With the NHS increasingly stretched financially, delays in getting GP appointments and waiting times in A&E or for an ambulance getting longer, the role of community pharmacies has

never been more important.

At the first sign of illness, visit your pharmacy to find out how to prevent your condition getting worse. Pharmacists are healthcare experts who have been through five years of training. We can help to treat many ailments while also managing more serious conditions like diabetes, asthma and heart conditions. You can speak to us without making an appointment.

All our conversations are confidential and we offer use of our private consultation rooms to talk.

All this is done alongside providing prescriptions and professional advice on which over the counter medicine to use effectively.

Another role that Healthy Living pharmacies like Bedminster perform is to tackle issues like cold homes and loneliness over the winter months. Cold homes affect

health and well-being, making our immune system weaker, so we pick up more bugs and ailments. This is especially bad for the elderly, young children, those with long-term health conditions and anyone with a breathing problem.

Keeping your home at a minimum 18˚C is the advice, but we know high energy bills and bad house designs can make this very difficult. This is why we partner with a local charity, the Centre for Sustainable Energy, to offer free government-funded help. Cold homes mean bad health so we are not going to let our patients go through that this winter.

We are also supporting the St Monica’s Trust befriending scheme to help tackle loneliness. Come in to find out more.

Our pharmacy provides services from helping you stock up or sort

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

O

Spot check N NOVEMBER 9 the farm café and nursery had an impromptu visit from the Bristol city council health inspector. Both the café and the nursery kitchen retained their 5-star hygiene rating, confirming that all farm food prep areas are well looked after, clean and sparkly.

Tall trees Christmas trees are on sale at the farm from December 1. The trees are locally-sourced and all around six feet tall. There are two varieties available - Norway spruce (traditional) at £25, or Nordman fir (non-drop) at £35. There is a £5 discount

for farm members – bring your membership card - pay at reception or in the café – all proceeds help to support the charitable work of the farm.

Mull it over The farm Christmas Fair is on Saturday December 9. Festive delights include homemade gift workshops, a magical wishing tree, festive wreaths, farm produce, gifts, and of course,

SPECIAL OFFER 20% Off With This Advert!

out your home medicines cabinet so you can deal with minor illnesses or injuries at home, free home delivery of prescriptions, private and free NHS flu jabs, emergency prescriptions and contraception, incontinence products and living aid and mobility products, among many others. The Government’s message to all is that, with any ailment, think ‘‘Pharmacy first’’.

2017 has been very challenging for independent pharmacies like us and we remain grateful for the trust you place in us to look after you and your loved ones’ health. We want you to enjoy the festive period and beyond in good health.

• This article by Ade Williams of Bedminster Pharmacy aims to show how all pharmacies can help people with a variety of health conditions and ease pressure on GPs and the rest of the NHS.

• windmillhillcityfarm.org.uk

open to all, and all cost less than £100 for 10 sessions, with concessions available for those on a low income. These regular courses are all very popular so booking early is recommended.

For more information and to book visit www.enrolonline.wea. org.uk or call 0300 303 3464.

Tree-mendous value: Local trees some warming mulled wine and mince pies. Noon-4pm, adults £2, children £1.

Of course you can!

January will see the start of a whole range of WEA courses at the farm – including pattern making (for beginners or intermediates), art, exploring colour and paint, reading and writing poetry, jewellery making, stained glass, yoga and complementary therapy.

These 10-week courses are

STOP PRESS – late news The farm was nominated in two categories in this year’s VOSCURs – Bristol’s social impact awards which celebrate the voluntary and community sector, and are voted on by the public. The farm was nominated in the Happy Healthy Bristol Award and the Community Venue of the Year Award.

Voting closed on November 17 and winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on Thursday November 30 – we’ll see how the farm did then.

Winners will be announced here: • voscur.org/content/ voscurs2017

December 2017

southbristolvoice

n THE MAYOR We must look at every option, but this city is going to get an affordable arena

MARVIN REES Mayor of Bristol

T

HIS month, the waste enforcement campaign that I launched during my State of the City speech has really started to take effect.

The city’s new enforcement team will be giving out fines of up to £75 to anyone caught dropping litter.

This is part of the serious steps we are taking to get to grips with Bristol’s litter problem. I launched my Clean Streets campaign last year and while we have had a great response from children, community organisations and individuals it is not right that these people should have to sort out the city’s rubbish problems alone. Our team have

33

been out on the street trying to change Bristol’s littering habit. In the team’s first week of operating they have handed out over 500 fines, which shows the extent of the problem we are dealing with.

By cracking down on the minority who are

spoiling the city for the rest of us we will be able to make Bristol the clean city that it should be. You can find more information about the campaign at the Clean Streets pages of the council website.

Meanwhile the value for money review into Bristol’s arena continues and I have asked for it to be widened to consider all possibilities.

We must consider every avenue when looking at this project. This includes raising private investment, thinking about other sites and considering designs which could be delivered within budget. Nothing is off the table because, one way or another, this city is going to get an arena it can afford.

We have also launched a council wide consultation on our draft five-year plan for the council. This consultation, called Tough Times, High Hopes, will set out our priorities for the direction of the city and will also include some of our proposals to make the savings of £52 million.

This follows on from our Your Neighbourhood consultation earlier this year where we laid out plans for wide-reaching proposals. The results of this are due to be considered soon by me and my cabinet.

To have your say on our plans and review our savings proposals please head to our website at: • bristol.gov.uk/corpstrategy

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THE CLOSURE of Dance Voice, the charity which provided dance training and therapy for a wide range of people, including those with learning differences, has been met with sadness.

The charity closed due to financial difficulties in October, after meeting for almost 40 years

at the Quaker Meeting House and Jubilee Hall in Wedmore Vale, Lower Knowle.

This leaves the two meeting spaces looking for new users. If you know of a group which needs a community space, contact Barney Smith on 07929 727 259 or barneysmith47@gmail.com.

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

Visit us or call for advice and to book in a free site visit. Free parking: Glenavon Farm, 331 Bath Road, Saltford, BS31 3TJ 01179 243898 / 01225 874422 Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk

n YOUR COUNCILLORS

T

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HERE is some new legislation coming into force from next April, the Centre for Sustainable Charlie Energy (CSE) Bolton tell us. The new Green regulations require Southville all landlords of homes with an EPC rating of G and F (in other words, the two lowest ratings) to bring them up to an E standard by April 2020.

EPC stands for Energy Performance Certificate and the legislation aims to ensure a minimum energy efficiency standard. For tenants this should be a good thing, because it may lead to them having warmer homes. (I say ‘may’ because there is a bit of a sting in the tail over the payment mechanism.)

I am told that landlords could be fined up to £5,000 if they fail to take action. The good news is that those lovely people at CSE can give advice – on things such as understanding their current

Southville

EPC rating, its accuracy, seeing if the new standards affect them, seeing if grants are available to help, and information on any exemptions.

To contact CSE ring 0800 082 2234 or email home. energy@cse.org.uk.

There can be no excuse for anyone to have to live in a draughty, cold or damp home, and we support all measures to improve the energy efficiency of housing stock generally. In this case, it reduces fuel poverty, it warms homes, it improves health and it cuts greenhouse gas emissions.

It must be obvious – with a bit of thought – that pavement parking is a hazard to those in wheelchairs, with buggies, the visually impaired, parents, the elderly and the young. So, why, oh why, would anyone regard it as acceptable?

If you agree with me, please sign the Bristol Walking Alliance petition. Google Bristol Walking Alliance pavement parking petition for details.

How to contact your councillor: p2

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HE WEST of England Joint Spatial Plan sounds like a document that you might read Stephen to cure insomnia.

Clarke It is well written Green though, and quite Southville interesting; more importantly, it will dictate the way our city and surrounding region deals with the demand for housing, transport and employment opportunities for the next 20-odd years.

Some of the conclusions are obvious; we are a prosperous region with pockets of great deprivation; we need more houses, transport and other infrastructure, and employment opportunities.

However, as a Green Party member, it pleases me that the authors do recognise that while all this expansion is happening we still need to tackle climate change.

There are a number of key objectives in the report: • Reduce carbon production by

50 per cent; a great objective but can it really be done at the same time as building 105,000 homes?

• 24,500 affordable homes built (out of a total of 105,000). Again; a great aspiration but can this really be achieved under current planning laws? Also, will they really be affordable?

• Reduce reliance on cars. Yes, but there is also talk of new roads and motorway junctions; • Increase use of walking and cycling; hurrah!

• Metrobus extensions; • New mass transit in Bristol; • A “ring of park and rides”; • New railway stations (including Ashton Gate!)

• Minimise energy use and maximise renewable energy; • Maintaining and enhancing the Green Infrastructure Network.

The plan was approved by Bristol city council and will shortly go for consultation (provided the other councils approve it as well).

Give your opinion (at www. jointplanningwofe.org.uk) or the ideas may become set in stone, literally …

December 2017

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n YOUR COUNCILLORS

Bedminster

B

RISTOL city council are asking for your views on a draft corporate strategy and the top priorities for the next five years. More details: • bristol.gov.uk/council-spendingperformance/corporate-strategy2018-2023-budget-consultation Information is also available in libraries.

Consultation on parks and green spaces closes on January 29. Consultation on the budget, corporate strategy and on these three other areas closes on December 17: • Removal of remaining funding for neighbourhood action; • Increasing income generation and efficiency in culture services; • Prioritising allowance needs for special guardians and families with children who are voluntarily looked after by the local authority by introducing Financial Assessment consultation.

Ashton Gate: traffic and parking WE CONTINUE to get residents and local businesses complaining

Mark Bradshaw Labour Bedminster

Celia Phipps Labour Bedminster

about the increased levels of traffic and obstructive or dangerous parking connected to matches held at Ashton Gate.

It is self-evident to most people that the current restrictions are outdated and insufficient to deal with the problems being faced.

While there is some on-street enforcement activity, this needs to be better resourced and expanded. There are ongoing discussions between the council and Bristol Sport and we attended the latest meeting with our counterparts representing Southville ward. Several options were discussed and, while no firm commitments were made, it seems that junction protection

35 How to contact your councillor: p2

(double yellows) and different variants of matchday parking control are moving to the top of the agenda. These discussions are part of the work to firm up detailed planning obligations agreed when the expanded stadium won planning consent.

Remembrance Sunday WE BOTH attended the annual Remembrance Ceremony at the Cenotaph and it continues to be an honour for us to represent the local community at this moving event. We are especially proud of HMS Flying Fox (located in the ward) and their contribution to the community and also those personnel who are on active service across the globe.

West of England Joint Planning Strategy BRISTOL councillors have approved this document to bring together development of new homes, jobs and infrastructure across the city region over the next 20 years. A key aspect has been to bring together planning

and transport so investment can be prioritised for supporting transport, energy and other works. The intention is to put in this infrastructure before housing and employment development.

However, some proposals regrettably seek to expand villages and other places without good connections and there is a worry that this will add to congestion and air pollution. The alternative is to locate growth nearer to existing urban places so that the infrastructure and services can be expanded to meet the demand. There is also a vital requirement to vastly improve access to the airport.

Surgeries NO ROOM to tell you about all our regular sessions where you can meet us, but our contact details are on page 2. We would like to wish all residents of Bedminster a happy and relaxing Christmas and a healthy 2018.

We thank you for your support and look forward to continuing to work on your behalf next year.

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December 2017

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n HISTORY SARAH GUPPY, INVENTOR EXTRAORDINAIRE

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Inventor and engineer Sarah Guppy was a 19th C phenomenon – but was she responsible for Bristol’s most famous landmark?

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37

I

T WON’T have escaped the eagle-eyed reader of these pages that most of the protagonists we feature are men.

We are dealing with history, after all; and the modern world teaches us that opportunities for women are still not equal, so we shouldn’t be surprised that, in the Victorian era, there weren’t too many Bristolian women who were celebrated as having made an impact on the city.

When we meet an exception like Sarah Guppy, then, it’s tempting to go overboard.

Inventor, investor, unafraid to speak her mind, and filthy rich, with a gigantic fortune she had helped to make herself.

Sarah Guppy lived in South Bristol in grand style, in one of the few great houses to be found on this side of the river, Arno’s Court. Here she came up with all manner of inventions, 11 of them patented, such as a method of keeping ship’s hulls free from barnacles, and domestic appliances such as a tea urn which also cooks eggs, and a bed that doubled as a home gym.

Only last year, however, did Sarah Guppy take a long-overdue step towards posthumous fame, with an entry into the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, written by Dr Madge Dresser, associate professor of History at the University of the West of England.

Since then, she’s been widely

Brought back to life: Sarah Guppy, the alleged creator of Clifton Suspension Bridge, as played by Kim Hicks in a production in 2006. The show is returning in 2018 – see p39 PHOTO: Zuleika Henry/Show of Strength

A bridge too far?

The South Bristol pioneer and Clifton’s engineering wonder of the modern world celebrated, with articles in the local and national press, and much discussion of her legacy online.

But was Sarah Guppy everything that was claimed of her? Have some commentators been guilty of projecting on to her their desires for a female hero of the Industrial Revolution? In short, was she really the brains behind the Clifton Suspension Bridge, robbed unfairly of her share of the credit by that interloper from London, Isambard Kingdom Brunel?

R

eading certain headlines might give you the impression that Sarah Guppy has been treated appallingly by history.

“Recognition at last for the mumof-six who designed Bristol’s Clifton Suspension Bridge – not Brunel” was the headline in the Bristol Post on March 15, 2017.

“A Bristol mother-of-six has been unmasked as the TRUE designer of the Clifton Suspension Bridge. Sarah Guppy has been added to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography with the revelation that she – and

not Brunel – was the brains behind the plans,” began the Post story.

The Daily Telegraph averred, on May 30, 2016: “The female engineer behind Bristol’s iconic bridge: Mum-of-six handed plans to Brunel because she said women must ‘not be boastful’.”

And the Daily Mail asked: “Was the Clifton Suspension Bridge really designed by an unknown mother-of-six?”

Can they all be right? Has a pioneering female engineer, almost the only one of her age, and a South Bristolian to boot, been robbed of her reputation as the designer of one of the world’s most famous Victorian landmarks? Should, perhaps, there be a university named Guppy rather than Brunel?

Spoiler alert: not really. (As is sometimes the case when a Daily Mail headline poses a question, the answer is No.) But Sarah Guppy deserves more fame than she has – and her story is just as interesting, if rather more complicated, than the headlines.

S

he was born Sarah Beach in Birmingham, one of the cradles of the Industrial Revolution, in 1770. Her family were wealthy and had made their money from the sugar trade in the West Indies – an industry which depended for its success on slavery. This, of course, was not young Sarah’s fault, and the same was true of many other wealthy families in 18th C England, but the fact that her family fortune may have its basis in slavery was not mentioned in the tide of celebratory articles about her.

What is clear is that Sarah was interested in far more than the expensive frocks and carriages which preoccupied so many well-off women of the time.

Her father owned a brass factory and it’s not too fanciful to suppose that, if she showed an interest in the family business, he took her to nearby Coalbrookdale to see one of the wonders of the world – the first bridge made out of iron.

Sarah was 11 when the Coalbrookdale bridge was opened, spanning a 100ft gorge with the height necessary to allow ships to pass underneath.

Plans had been proposed to build it in stone or timber but none fitted the brief as well as the Continued overleaf

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

December 2017

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n HISTORY SARAH GUPPY, INVENTOR EXTRAORDINAIRE Continued from page 37 revolutionary cast iron design, which allowed a single span with a minimum of material. It proved its worth when it was the only bridge on the River Severn to survive the torrential flood of February 1795.

A bridge like Coalbrookdale was, for its day, as innovative as the first smartphone. Innovation was something Sarah clearly admired. When in 1795 she married a wealthy Bristol merchant, Samuel Guppy, it was to be the start of a partnership that was truly inventive, and they began filing patents almost straight away.

It’s never been clear how much of a contribution Sarah made to the patents for inventions that were registered in her husband’s name. There may have seemed little point in putting a patent in her name as at the time a woman couldn’t legally own property independently of her husband.

The year after they were married, Samuel Guppy patented a method of making copper nails.

It may sound a trivial achievement, but it may have been crucial to the survival of Great Britain.

In the 18th and early 19th centuries, the Royal Navy was Britain’s main defence. In 1780 the nation was at war with the USA, France, the Netherlands and Spain. Invasion was a real threat, which continued through the reign of Napoleon in France.

The Royal Navy had the world’s most powerful fleet of ships – but they were rotting.

Attacks from barnacles and woodworm could weaken a ship and affect its handling. Coating

THE NAME SOUNDS FAMILIAR …

T

HE GUPPY is one of the most popular species of tropical fish kept in captivity – and it comes from the Guppy family of South Bristol.

Robert Lechmere Guppy was a nephew of Thomas Guppy, one of Sarah’s sons. He lived in Trinidad, where he caught several specimens of a small fish he believed was unknown to science.

Only an inch or two long, the males were smaller and more brightly coloured than the females. He sent specimens to the Natural History Museum in London, where his friend, Dr Albert

scene, and Sarah became a well-known commentator and author – but not always in terms that would find favour today.

She wrote books for children, but despite her own abilities she had decidedly odd views (to our eyes) on the position of women.

She founded a society to look after women servants – but it seems to have been on the basis that charity was all they deserved. Sarah believed that working women were paid too much, and their salaries should be reduced.

Closer to modern sensibilities, though, was her campaigning on behalf of animals. She wrote to Revolution: The Iron Bridge at Coalbrookdale, built when Sarah was 11 the earl of Liverpool, who owned the giant Smithfield meat market the hulls with tar or even lead wooden hull without costly and in London, asking that it be stopped some of the rot, but then complex internal bolts. closed on the ground of animal it was discovered that copper was The Guppys found the answer cruelty. She believed that driving even more effective. It was light, – though it took eight years to animals through the streets of it offered no resistance to water, perfect it. Their patent was for the city to be slaughtered was and it kept out the rot. By the end “The art or invention of cutting cruel and unnecessary, and she of 1783, no fewer than 393 ships and heading nails by two several called for a new system of local of thee fleet were clad in copper. engines.” (An ‘engine’ here markets where animals could be This was tremendously means an industrial machine, not transported more easily, and expensive – a vital step for the a device like a car engine.) people could find work, and buy navy, but out or reach for most In 1804, as the invasion threat what they needed, nearer their commercial ship owners. Hence from Napoleon grew, the Royal homes. She wrote: “Man where the phrase “copper bottomed”, Navy bought the patent from the his interest and convenience is used to describe an expensive but Guppys for £40,000. This is the served (generally speaking) feels very safe investment. equivalent of £3.2 million today, little for any animal, but if Then it emerged that after allowing for inflation. But observed their eyes sufficiently attaching the copper with alloy adjusted for the size of the indicate that they do severely bolts to the iron bolts inside the economy at that time, and the suffer both in mind and body.” ships’ hulls was causing relative wealth it gave to Samuel She was describing the ideas of corrosion. This was another and Sarah, it is worth an animal suffering, and of food threat that couldn’t be ignored. astonishing £230m. miles, before the environmental Copper bolts were developed, Certainly, in their time the movement was born. which removed the risk of Guppys were among Bristol’s electrolytic reaction with the super rich. They lived in its most he innovation which iron, and the entire navy was prestigious locations – at led to the new copper refitted, again very expensively. different times having houses at nailed had been made in The opportunity was obvious Prince Street and at Queen Square. co-operation with an American for anyone who could work out a At some point after their industrialist, James Finley, who way to fix copper sheets to a windfall from the navy they had a a factory in Newburyport, moved into even grander Massachusetts. The Guppys set surroundings at Arno’s Court. It up a London operation to market had been built in 1760 for the their wares, and Sarah spent Quaker industrialist William part of her time managing the Reeve, who, perhaps not business in the capital. coincidentally, made his money Her next-door neighbours in smelting copper. Reeves also fashionable Cheyne Walk, built the strange Black Castle, a Chelsea, were the Brunel family giant folly the other side of Bath – the visionary engineer Marc, Road made of blocks of slag from wife Sophia Kingdom and son A guppy: named after the family his copper foundry in Crew’s Hole.

Isambard Kingdom (IKB) , born Our engraving on p39 shows in 1806. It was the start of a Guenther, named the species the grand house and its folly in relationship between generations Girardinus Guppii in his honour in 1803, with fields of sheep grazing of the two families.

1866. However, we now know that in the foreground, looking like a The Clifton Suspension Bridge the guppy had been discovered rural idyll – though in reality the was a long way from being the twice before – in Venezuela in steam and stench of the factories first of its kind. The Chinese had 1859 and in Barbados in 1861. and tanneries of St Philips were developed the idea centuries The scientific name is now only a short distance away on the before, and the Tibetan saint and Poecilia reticulata. But guppy is other side of the New Cut. bridge-builder Thangtong Gyalpo much more memorable – and Samuel and Sarah were built eight simple suspension that’s the name that has stuck. leading lights of the Bristol social bridges in the 1430s, with a

T

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n HISTORY SARAH GUPPY, INVENTOR EXTRAORDINAIRE

Sarah’s home: Arno’s Court and the Black Castle (left) in about 1803 walkway of planks suspended by iron wires.

In Britain, a suspension footbridge, the Wynch bridge on the River Tees, was erected in 1741. By the 19th century bigger, wider bridges were required.

The man who developed the idea in the US was the Guppys’ collaborator, James Finley. Like Sarah, he was a self-motivated, untrained inventor – his first career was as a lawyer, then a judge. But where Sarah was patronised as a woman dabbling in engineering, Finlay was lauded as a man who got things done.

And indeed he built the first modern suspension bridge, the Jacob’s Creek Bridge in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, 1801, with a wide, stable deck, suspended from chains and trusses.

The evidence is that Sarah

learned from Finley lessons that he did not appreciate. He designed between 20 and 40 chain bridges, but not all of them survived. It’s now thought that he didn’t make enough allowance for the stress of ‘live loads’ – the weight of people and the impact of storms and snow.

Finley’s Chain Bridge at Falls of Schuylkill, Philadelphia, built in 1808, collapsed in 1816 under a heavy weight of snow.

And his Dunlap’s Creek bridge in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, built in 1809, collapsed in 1820 during a heavy snowfall when a six-horse wagon was crossing.

Was Sarah aware of the shortcomings of Finley’s design when she filed – in her own name – a patent for a suspension

SARAH GUPPY – BACK ON STAGE IN 2018 THE SHOW of Strength theatre company, based in Bedminster, which makes dramas that bring history to life, has already put Sarah Guppy on the stage.

Back in 2006, for the 200th anniversary of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s birth, Sarah’s role in the Brunel story was told in An Audience With Sarah Guppy.

Sarah Guppy was then little known except to a few students of the period. Show of Strength founder Sheila Hannon, has worked with Prof Madge Dresser of UWE to uncover details of

PHOTO: Bristol Museums © Bristol Culture

bridge in 1811? Her design was for a method of “erecting and constructing bridges and rail-roads without arches or sterlings, whereby the danger of being washed away by floods is avoided”.

Her innovation – as always with patents – was in the detail.

According to the official website of the Clifton Suspension Bridge, she described “a system whereby vertical rows of piles (eg tree trunks) were driven deep into the ground and fixed together by a frame so that they would be capable of resisting water erosion. On this secure base the bridge piers were to be built.

Several chains would then be placed or secured on top and drawn tight to create a platform and a deck built on top.”

The difference Explaining her ideas: Kim Hicks as Sarah Guppy in the 2006 show, An Audience With Sarah Guppy. A new show is to be staged in 2018

Sarah’s remarkable life, including new material to be featured in an updated production next year.

Called Sarah Guppy: The Bridge, The Bed, The Truth, the new show will open in autumn 2018.

The Daily Mail version of the Guppy tale, headlined “Was the

Clifton Suspension Bridge really designed by an unknown mother-of-six?”, is “patronising and inaccurate,” wrote Sheila Hannon.

“The time seems right to bring Sarah back to set the record straight,” she said. • showofstrength.org.uk

between this design, and the bridge which was eventually built over the Avon gorge, is obvious.

Sarah Guppy designed a bridge which sits on piles in the riverbed; what we eventually got was a bridge anchored in the cliffs high above the river.

But it can’t be denied that the Guppy patent had an influence on the long-running debate about how to bridge the Avon gorge. A crossing had been planned since 1753, when businessman William Vick bequeathed £1,000 in his will towards the project (now worth £139,000 after inflation but, in purchasing power, worth closer to £18m).

Plans came and went, many of them hampered by the Admiralty’s insistence of a clearance of 100ft under any bridge to allow tall ships to pass.

This may have been what prevented Sarah from pushing her design for use on the Avon.

She is known to have made detailed models of her design, and to have invested in the fund to build the bridge.

But when the time came to submit plans to the competition to build the bridge, she didn’t act.

So where do the stories come from that she gave her plans to Brunel, and that she is the real genius behind the bridge?

We have seen that she knew the Brunel family as neighbours.

She probably got to know Isambard as a child, and though she had six children of her own, it’s possible that in London she was living apart from them.

Sarah is said to have had a fiery temper, and the London home may have been a refuge from a failing marriage.

She had also written children’s books; is it too fanciful to think that she read them to young Isambard, and discussed the latest in bridge design with his father Marc? She was aware of the innovations of her business partner, Finley, in the US, and obviously thought she could improve on them.

The tale of Sarah’s influence also stretches to another great engineer, Thomas Telford. He erected the Menai suspension bridge across the treacherous Menai Straits to Anglesey in 1826. He had asked permission to use the benefits of Sarah’s patent, and she gave it freely.

The Menai bridge sits on piers set in the water, so appears close Continued overleaf

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

of money for her own needs – that her ideas should be used for public benefit.

This was after she had come up with yet another sensible idea which no one else had thought of, writing to the Great Western Railway to suggest planting willow and poplar trees to stabilise rail embankments. It’s a practice still used today.

Her last patent, in 1844, was for a method of caulking ships’ hulls to stop leaks.

Her collaboration with the younger Brunel was a long one, and the attachment passed to her second son, Thomas, who became an engineer who worked

SARAH’S INVENTIONS • Copper nails to fix copper sheathing to ships – worth a fortune to the Royal Navy (patent filed by her husband Samuel); • A ‘teasmade’ – an urn for tea or coffee that also cooked eggs and warmed toast; • A method of piling suspension bridges to make them more secure; • A new type of candlestick that allowed candles to burn longer; • Sprinklers – an 1842 system to put out fires with pipes full of water (filed in the name of second husband Richard); • An exercise bed – a bed with drawers and bars for a workout; • A portable oven; • A plate warmer; • A tobacco-based remedy for foot rot in sheep; • A fire hood – a safety device for stoves.

Workout zone: The exercise bed had pull-out drawers which functioned as steps for on-thespot exercise, plus various bars for pull-ups and other stretches.

It was just one of 11 patents filed in Sarah’s name or the names of her husbands.

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WORDSEARCH This month: Rivers from around the World

SUDOKU

Can you find 40 rivers hidden vertically, horizontally or diagonally?

Each horizontal row, each 2x2 square and each column must contain all the numbers 1-4.

Q J S N K B I V Y E L L O W K Q R V C

Q S I Y E K H N M G E V P N K H Z R O

I L E W R T X J D J D Y U J I D I D L

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H F Y I N U A M I E S F E G I R E O R

U O I B G E G R E E N R I V E R H L A

D V B L Y L R W Y K D X T T T U G G D

S P K U T A S L H A O K N I A G R A O

O S K Z W O B D R I O N G N D L M O R

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SOLUTIONS

in 1811. The coins are now rare – there’s a Guppy penny on eBay at the time of writing for £100.

I

f we conclude that SarahGreen River Guppy was not the creator Huang of the Clifton Suspension Bridge, it should not diminish Hudson her in our minds. She was without a doubt one of the Indus world’s best-informed experts on Irrawaddy bridge design in the early 19th C, Jordan and her influence on the Brunels and their success may well have Lena been considerable.

Mekong The families were very close: the younger Brunel painted Murray portraits of Sarah and of her Niagra children at Arno’s Court in the 1830s. Quite apart from that, she Niger was a prolific inventor, and not a Nile fanciful one.

She was a writer for bothOb children and adults, a poet, a Oder social campaigner and a mother to six (even if she didn’t do the Orange dutiful thing and preserve their Orinoco inheritance). She may not fit neatly into the story we would Parana like to tell about her. But whose Po fault is that? Not hers.

Rhine Sources Rhone Article on Clifton Suspension Bridge Seine website: • cliftonbridge.org.uk/didSomme sarah-guppy-design-cliftonSyr Darya suspension-bridge Sarah Guppy: Bridging the past to Thames the present, by Show of Strength Tigris theatre producer Sheila Hannon: • institution-engineering- Ubangi designers.org.uk/Article/ Volga Features/sarah-guppy-bridgingthe-present-to-the-past White River Was Sarah Guppy the real inventor Yangtze of the Clifton Suspension Bridge?

Article for BBC History magazine by Yellow Bristol journalist Eugene Byrne: • historyextra.com/article/ feature/was-sarah-guppy-realinventor-clifton-suspensionbridge Blog by Colin Salter, descendant of the Guppy family: • talltalesfromthetrees.blogspot. co.uk/2012/02/samuel-guppy1755-1830-makes-tidy-penny.html

WAHT’S MY PRESENT?

£1.7m in spending power.) Two years later Coote collapsed in Park Street and died, having burned away most of his inheritance, leaving only £200.

We are left with a picture of an extraordinary woman who didn’t seek for herself the fame which in our age she would have had thrust upon her.

Indeed, despite her many achievements, she didn’t think it was right that she should get too much recognition. “It is unpleasant to speak of oneself – it may seem boastful, particularly in a woman,” she wrote. She also believed – perhaps because she had plenty

A pretty penny: The Guppy coins may have been used to pay staff

Exciting job opportunities in care

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Parcel a is the car, b is the submarine and c is the aeroplane.

AT THE height of success for the Guppy family business the company was – quite legally – minting its own coins.

It forged penny, halfpenny and farthing (quarter penny) coins, which could be exchanged for coins of the realm at its premises in Bristol and London.

It’s not quite clear why: according to science writer Colin Salter, a descendant of the family, some industrialists had started making their own coins to pay their workers because there was a dire shortage of currency in the early days of the Industrial Revolution. But the coin famine is thought to have ended with the opening of the Royal Mint in 1809, and the Guppy coins were issued

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arah Guppy was clearly a phenomenon. She was a prolific writer, campaigner and inventor. She filed 11 patents, some of them in her own name. She invented a bed that doubled as a home gym, with bars to pull up on and drawers that made steps.

She designed a tea urn, patented in 1812, with attachment which could cook eggs, and a compartment to keep toast warm.

In later life Sarah became a semi-scandalous figure when, seven years after her husband’s death in 1830, she married Richard Eyre Coote, aged 39 – 28 years younger than her. She didn’t tell her six children in advance, though she was farsighted enough to get Coote to sign a prenuptial agreement to protect her considerable fortune.

It didn’t work. Coote proved to be a waster, a dreadful gambler who burned through Sarah’s money. In 1842 she could no longer afford the upkeep of Arno’s Court and she moved out, to 7 Richmond Hill, Clifton. She had enough money, though, to buy the land opposite the house, which she insisted should be for the benefit of residents, and it still remains a green space.

Sarah died in 1850, leaving a legacy of just £500 (£49,000 today, after inflation, but worth

closely with IKB. Thomas helped design the Great Western Railway from London to Bristol and shared Brunel’s vision that the line’s ultimate destination should be the United States; he was also Directing Amazon Engineer on Brunel’s great Brahmaputra ocean-crossing steamships, the Great Western andColorado the Great Britain. As for the Congo suspension bridge, neither Brunel nor Sarah lived to see Danube it: it wasn’t opened until 1864, and by then even Brunel’s Elbe design had been considerably Euphrates changed.

Ganges

SHE EVEN MADE MONEY

n TAKE A BREAK

Across2 Gravy, 6 Stew, 7 Nut, 8 Grapes, 10 Oil, 11 Rye. Down 1 Sausage, 3 Raw, 4 Venison, 5 Staple, 9 Pie.

Continued from page 39 to the Guppy design. A story in the Bristol Mercury in 1839 said the bridge had used Guppy’s patent without charge. But the Guppy patent talks about driving piles into a riverbed, whereas the Menai piers were built on bedrock – not quite the same thing.

There was another difference, too: both Guppy’s and Finley’s designs used chains, but the Menai bridge, like most suspension bridges after 1820, used flat iron links, which were more rigid.

In 1830 Telford made his own proposal to bridge the Avon Gorge using two huge piers set in the riverbed.

But his design didn’t win – victory went to the Brunels, who had already built suspension bridges elsewhere. They proposed a vast, 700ft span across the cliff tops. (Later it emerged that Marc Brunel thought this too big a stretch, and advised his son Isambard to add a central pier – but his son ignored him.)

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n HISTORY SARAH GUPPY, INVENTOR EXTRAORDINAIRE

December 2017

Amazon, Brahmaputra, Colorado, Congo, Danube, Elbe, Euphrates, Ganges, Green River, Huang, Hudson, Indus, Irrawaddy, Jordan, Lena, Mekong, Murray, Niger, Nile, Ob, Oder, Orange, Orinoco, Parana, Po, Rhine, Rhone, Seine, Somme, Syr Darya, Thames, Tigris, Ubangi, Volga, White River, Yangtze, Yellow, Yenisey, Yukon, Zambezi

December 2017

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JOB OPPORTUNITIES IN CARE southbristolvoice

03/02/20

WHAT’S MY PRESENT? Can you trace which Christmas present is in which parcel? Answers above

a

b

c

This month: Food

Yenisey The numbers point you to the letters on a phone keypad Yukon Clues 1

Across Zambezi 2. 47289 6. 7839 7. 688 8. 472737 10. 645 11. 793

Down 1. 7287243 3. 729 4. 8364766 5. 782753 9. 743

2 is A, B or C 3 is D, E or F 4 is G, H or I 5 is J, K, or L

6 is M, N or O 7 is P, Q, R or S 8 is T, U or V 9 is W, X, Y or Z

2

3

4 5

6

7

8

9 10 11

© www.123rf.com/profile_pteshka

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December 2017

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An unnerving place for an innocent delivery driver REVIEW: The Bat’s Ball: A Gothic Celebration, Arnos Vale cemetery HE GUESTS were a striking lot – there was a Twilight (the movie) contingent, all long hair, frock coats and cheekbones; there were steam punk and Victoriana influences, floor-length frocks with ruffles and bustles, top hats of various heights, monocles and brocade; and there were good old-fashioned 1980s goths too – eye-liner and pointy boots – the colour black being the uniting factor.

Lit outside by night lights and lanterns, the Anglican chapel looked stunning in the nearly full-moon light. With a glass of red wine on arrival, guests milled

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Street, Bedminster. The legendary Krautrock band, formed in 1971 in West Germany. £19.80, 7.30pm.

• fiddlers.co.uk Saturday December 2 n Christmas Craft Fair Ashton Vale primary school, Avebury Road, 11am-2pm. Lots for children to do and make, plus a Lapland Café, stalls and raffle.

Free entry. n Martin Stephenson & the Daintees The Thunderbolt, Bath Road, Totterdown.

Stephenson is reunited with the band with whom he made his first impact with 80s debut album Boat to Bolivia, which they have now rerecorded. 7.30pm, £18 on the door.

• thethunderbolt.net Until December 29 n Affordable Art Fair Tobacco Factory bar OPEN from 12noon to midnight, the Tobacco Fctory team have invited some of the most popular local artists to exhibit a selection of affordable art. Come and find an awesome artwork for a very reasonable price, from Bemmie, Creative Art Force, Fiona Clabon, Peskimo, Susan Taylor, Tobias Illustration & Viva Los Muertos.

Right, Carved phone case from Tobias Illustrations

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n WHAT’S ON

n WHAT’S ON Tuesday November 28 n Jazzata presents Dana & Susan Zion, Bishopsworth Road. “Dana and Susan Robinson explore rural America with elegant simplicity, their rich, intimate harmonies are supported by Dana’s powerful guitar and fiddle playing and Susan’s delicate, sometimes funky, sometimes haunting, mountain banjo sound.” £12/£12, 8pm.

• zionbristol.co.uk/events Thursday November 30 n Beauty and the Beast Tobacco Factory theatre. The Tobacco Factory’s Christmas shows rarely disappoint those looking for something with a bit more imagination than the traditional pantomime. This production of the classic French fairy tale opened last Christmas in Cambridge to sellout houses.

It’s billed as a mischievous and music-filled Christmas treat.

Until January 14, tickets from £9.50 for some schools performances, to £20; family of four £62.

• tobaccofactorytheatres.com n Play Knowle West Knowle West Media centre, Leinster Avenue. Join KWMC from 6.30-8.30pm for an evening of fun and gaming. Play new games made by local creatives, explore the gaming test space, and get help with any tech you’re having trouble with. Free drinks too. To book a place call 0117 903 0444 and ask for Martha or Rachel.

• kwmc.org.uk Friday December 1 n Christmas Food and Gift Market Zion, Bishopsworth Road. Christmas puddings, sweet treats, artisan breads, beer and cider gift packs, gifts, cards, calendars, jewellery and more.

10am-1pm. Café open all day.

• zionbristol.co.uk/events n Faust Fiddlers Club, Willway

December 2017

Stunning: The cemetery setting around listening to music, checking out the artwork from local artists, or just hanging out – it seemed like a lot of these folk were old friends, loving the chance to dress up and catch up. Down in the crypt, members of the local Mexican community created a beautiful Dia de los Muerta – Day of the Dead – exhibition, including calaveras – loving but cheeky poems about late loved ones. In another part of the crypt, you could get a Tarot reading from Spider.

The Bat’s Ball, billed as a Gothic celebration, was the brain-child of, and hosted by, bat specialist Dan Flew, former grave digger, who n Georgia Lewis and Friends Saltcellar Folk Club, Totterdown Baptist Church, entrance off Cemetery Road. A welcome return to the Saltcellar for this young, exuberant and musically versatile trio. Entry £5 or £3 for floorsingers. Hot drinks and refreshments on sale; BYO alcohol.

• saltcellarfolk.org.uk n Comedy and Dining with Jarred Christmas Comedy Box at the Hen & Chicken, North Street. “New Zealander Jarred has a unique style that deftly mixes gags with storytelling, and the ability to improvise and roll with anything that’s thrown his way.” Plus guests. Dining package £30, gig only £11, 7.45pm.

• thecomedybox.co.uk

now leads bat tours at the cemetery and has sole access to some secret areas where rare bats gather. Nervous, he professed he’d had some Dutch courage before making his welcome speech, but he did good and came across as a likeable fellow, his friend then read a poem, full of gothic symbolism,

by Byron, before we joined our groups for an after dark tour of the necropolis.

Janine led us through the graves by torch-light, stopping to tell us about the cemetery, its flora and fauna or the lives of interesting residents. Bizarrely, a Morrison’s delivery van drove in through the main gates and turned up towards the WWI memorial – whereupon our guide, in full goth regalia, followed by her gang of 30 or more black-clad guests, rushed up to the driver and bid her turn back. The driver’s sat nav had told her there was a way through but she did as she was told and reversed back down the path. That must have made a story back at the office. Beccy Golding Sunday December 3 n Red Riding Hood Zion, Bishopsworth Road. A traditional panto for all the family presented

by JDJB Productions. Shows at 12noon and 3pm. Children £4, adults £6, family (up to five) £20.

• zionbristol.co.uk/events Monday December 4 n VPAG meeting Bowling Club, Victoria Park, 7.30-9pm.

Victoria Park Action Group meets every month to discuss matters such as upcoming events, any issues that have arisen in the park, and ongoing projects such as play areas, wildlife areas, mending benches and more.

• vpag.org.uk Wednesday December 6 n Adult Lego Evening Zion, Bishopsworth Road, 7-10pm.

Build your own Christmas decoration, swap mini figures and enjoy a coffee or a drink. £4 entry includes bricks for one decoration to take home.

• zionbristol.co.uk/events n Quiz night Tobacco Factory snug bar. Weekly quiz is £1 per person, 8.30-10.30pm.

• tobaccofactory.com/whats-on Thursday December 7 n A Bit of Imagination Acta theatre, Gladstone Street, Bedminster. “No one bothers with Lucy, so when her imaginary friend invites her into a world of high adventure and fun, how can

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

Find out what’s behind the stage curtain

December 10-January 14 n The Ugly Duckling Tobacco Factory theatre

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HIS year’s show for the younger Christmas audience at the Tobacco Factory is The Ugly Duckling. It’s the famous story by Hans Christian Andersen, brought to life by the Travelling Light theatre company who first opened the show at the North Street venue 10 years ago.

Ducklings are supposed to be fluffy and yellow. So who is the gangly and scruffy young duck who’s just waddled into the farmyard? Join the misfit bird as he sets off on an epic adventure to find the place where he belongs.

The show is 45 minutes long and is suitable for ages two and

she resist? A journey of laughs and unexpected turns for all the family, wrapped up in a seasonal message.” Shows 7pm, until December 16. Tickets £3.

• acta-bristol.com n Christmas wreath making Zion, Bishopsworth Road. Lizzie Valentine shows you how to make a Christmas wreath or garland. Step-by-step instructions for you to take home a beautiful arrangement. 7.30pm, £30.

• zionbristol.co.uk/events n From Blues and Gospel to the Great American Songbook The Thunderbolt, Bath Road, Totterdown. Natalie Davis (vocals), Dave Merrick (guitar) and Brendan Whitmore (sax) lead two sets of retro jazz and blues with a spoken introduction from Dave on the story of the music. Tickets £7 and £5, 8.30pm.

• thethunderbolt.net Friday December 8 n Mrs Gerrish’s Rear Window Zion, Bishopsworth

Not fitting in: The Ugly Duckling over. It runs from December 10-January 14. Preview tickets (before December 15) are £7 and shows are at 10.30am. After that they cost £12 or £9 for concessions, and shows are at 2.30pm. There’s a relaxed performance for those with extra needs at 1.30pm on January 2.

• tobaccofactorytheatres.com Road. Alfred Hitchcock meets Carry on Constable in this original drama. Mrs Gerrish is stuck in a wheelchair after an accident. Studying her neighbours through her binoculars, she grows fascinated by their behaviour until she sees something that makes her blood run cold. Tickets £11, 7.30pm.

• zion bristol.co.uk/events n Traditions of a Victorian Christmas Knowle and Totterdown Local History Society. A talk by Cherry Hubbard, followed by a light Christmas buffet. 7.30pm, Redcatch community centre, Redcatch Road, Knowle. £3 for visitors, £1.50 members.

• knowleandtotterdownhistory. org.uk n Arnos Vale After Hours Arnos Vale cemetery, Bath Road.

This tour reveals the darker side of Arnos Vale in an exploration of tragic tales, folk customs and funeral etiquette of Victorian society. Bring a torch. Tickets

December 8-13 n Vivienne Baker: Paintings Centrespace Gallery, 6 Leonard Lane (off Corn Street) BS1 1EA

£10, 7.30pm-9pm. Also on December 15.

• arnosvale.org.uk n Flash: A Tribute to Queen The Tunnels, Temple Meads. A dedicated Queen tribute act playing replica equipment with authentic costumes. 7.30pm, £14.

• thetunnelsbristol.co.uk Saturday December 9 n Indoor Christmas market SouthBank Club, Dean Lane, Southville. The SouthBank’s annual Christmas-spirit-filled daytime market is back from 11am-4pm with a host of stalls, live music, hot snacks. Free entry.

• southbankclub.webs.com n Christmas Fair Windmill Hill City Farm, Philip Street, Bedminster, 12noon-4pm.

Browse gifts from the Home Grown shop, try homemade gift workshops, sample mulled wine and mince pies, campfire cooking sessions and see the Magical Wishing Tree. Plus festive wreaths, farm produce and more.

• windmillhillcityfarm.org.uk Vivienne Baker: Rooted in a real landscape

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HE PAINTINGS by Totterdown artist Vivienne Baker look abstract, but they often originate from and feature a local landscape, such as the urban birches in Oxford Street and Abbots Pond in Abbots Leigh.

Vivienne makes use of lowtech photographic resources and exploits the distortion that often occurs with low quality source

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HILDREN who want to find out what goes into putting a drama on stage can find out at the Tobacco Factory’s Play in a Day sessions during the Christmas holidays.

There are two days, one for 11-14 year-olds on December 16, and one for 6-10 year-olds on December 17.

At each session, youngsters will work as a group to devise, create and direct a short performance that will be shared with family and friends at the end

images. She uses oil on canvas, but applied with untraditional tools such as paint rollers, spray guns and Chinese brushes. Vivienne has

featured in more than 40 exhibitions, 12 of them solo shows.

She has a studio at Spike Island.

• viviennebaker.net

of the day. The sessions are led by skilled theatre makers experienced in creating work with and for young people.

The cost is £35, which includes a child ticket to that evening’s performance of Beauty and the Beast.

There’s also a chance to peek behind the scenes of the Tobacco Factory’s big Christmmas show, Beauty and the Beast.

Then on Saturday December 23, 7-10 years olds can explore backstage and take part in a drama workshop.

It’s from 12noon-1.30pm and the cost is £10. School bookings are available.

To book, call the box office on 0117 902 0344.

• tobaccofactorytheatres.com n HO9909 + Kate Mo$$ Fiddlers Club, Willway Street, Bedminster. Dark experimental hip hop with the aggression of hardcore punk from US outfit HO9909, pronounced HORROR. £13.20, 7.30pm.

• fiddlers.co.uk Sunday December 10 n Redcatch Christmas Fair Redcatch Community Garden.

Santa’s grotto, stalls, carol singing, teapot cocktails, tombola, food and drink, plus willow weaving with Sarah Edwards, Sausagenius, Bristol Rocks painting and Christmas music with DJ CHRIStmas.

12noon-6pm.

Tuesday December 12 n Aynsley Lister The Tunnels, Temple Meads. Fresh from winning Guitarist of the Year in the British Blues Awards, Aynsley returns with a new album, Eyes Wide Open. 7.30pm, £12.

• thetunnelsbristol.co.uk Wednesday December 13 n Christmas Carol Evening Bedminster Methodist Church, British Road, Bedminster. With poems & readings in aid of the Julian Trust, 7pm.

Friday December 15 n Networking with Freelance Mum Windmill Hill City Farm, Bedminster. Guest speaker: Chris Coles of Vin2o, the wine company which uses a share of profits from each bottle to provide clean water in developing countries. 10am12noon. £9 members, £12 non-members, children free, includes coffee and cake.

• windmillhillcityfarm.org.uk Continued overleaf

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

December 2017

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n WHAT’S ON n The Regz Annual Festive Feast The Thunderbolt, Bath Road, Totterdown. A 10th year for this festive event after last year’s sell-out. The Regz claim to be Bristol’s premier show band, playing everything from Motown to ska. 7.30pm, £6.

• thethunderbolt.net n Adam Kay’s Smutty Christmas Songs Comedy Box at the Hen & Chicken, North Street. Adam Kay presents an evening of seasonal smut, a sell-out every year since 2008. £12.50, 7.45pm.

• thecomedybox.co.uk n Joey The Lips Christmas Show The Tunnels, Temple Meads. 10-piece Joey The Lips, who have opened for Will Young, are billed as a funky soul, blues and disco revue. 7.30pm, £11.

• thetunnelsbristol.co.uk n Inner Terrestrials Fiddlers Club, Willway Street, Bedminster.

Inner Terrestrials are pioneers of the UK dub punk sound. Support includes the Filaments. £10, 8pm.

• fiddlers.co.uk Saturday December 16 n Christmas Coffee Morning Bedminster Methodist Church, British Road, Bedminster. With Christmas stalls and refreshments, 10.30am-noon.

Diverse comics stretch the boundaries of funny REVIEW: Comedy Depot’s Stand Up for Diversity, Zion, Bishopsworth HAT Angie Belcher is a cheeky one. Normally when I’m doing a review I keep quiet and try to experience an event as any other attendee would. And you’d think, sitting right at the back, you’d avoid getting pulled in.

But compere Angie is a comedian who doesn’t play by the rules. After asking regular Martin how his week had been, she told him to think of something a bit more interesting as she had a reviewer in. “How’s it going so far, Beccy?” she shouted. “Great,” I returned. And it was. Angie is a welcoming host – newcomers are always invited to share their favourite sexual position, “everyone gets asked” – and she discovered that John and Sam

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CHRISTMAS CRUDENESS

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Living Spit: A crude take on the Xmas story

FTER their triumphant take on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Howard and Stu of Living Spit are back to tackle the other great Christmas story – the Nativity.

Though it’s being staged by the Tobacco Factory, the venue is the Theatre Shop, Clevedon.

With the usual mix of silly songs, pitiful puppetry and more Biblical befuddlement than you can shake a figgy pudding at, Living Spit’s Nativity is billed as a cornucopia of comic Christmassy crudeness. It’s for ages 16+, in

other words, not for the faintWaggy: Spaniel-like Adam Hess hearted. Tickets £14 and you can find the Theatre Shop at Unit 5, Triangle Centre, Queens Square, Kenn Road, Clevedon BS21 6HX • theatreshop.org.uk

Sunday December 17 n Break Out Voices Christmas concert SouthBank Centre, Dean Lane, Southville.

Songs from adults’ and children’s choir, this year raising money for homeless charity Emmaus. Snack included, bar open 6pm, tickets £5 (under 18s free).

• southbankclub.webs.com n The Wurzels Xmas Show The Tunnels, Temple Meads. The cider-soaked and dung-booted lads play a genre they invented – Zummerzet Scrumpy ’n’ Western. 7.30pm, £12.50.

• thetunnelsbristol.co.uk

Wednesday December 20 n Wych Elm The Thunderbolt, Bath Road, Totterdown. Wych Elm “deliver a sleazy, yucky take on lo-fi dragged straight from the muddy banks of Bristol.” Part of a Christmas special for Auricular Promotions including Renaissance Grrl, Drifft, and Tom O’Shea. £5.

• thethunderbolt.net Friday December 22 n Carols and Comedians Somerset Hall, The Precinct, Portishead. Comedians Paul Karensa, Mark Palmer, Geoff Whiting and compere Tony Vino

Angie Belcher: No one escapes, not even the reviewer

were on their first date, they’d met on Tinder, and we were treated to updates in between acts, “marks out of 10 so far, Sam?” As part of Zion’s Diversity month, this Comedy Depot was titled Stand Up for Diversity. And a wide range of comedians there was – perhas a little more diverse than the largely white, working class, 50-plus South Bristol audience.

It’s not that the crowd aren’t prepared to have their boundaries pushed, but sometimes it seems the comics are not getting quite the usual audience experience.

Mark Cram is a bisexual bloke with a marine for a brother. He’d just found out his best mate had slept with his ex and kept apologising for being a bit spikey.

His set did need polishing, but

PHOTO: Coe Creative

there were some golden nuggets in his tales of family dynamics.

Amy Mason riffed on her experience of post-natal depression – it was brave, thought-provoking comedy with a happy/sad edge.

Muslim Jamie D’Souza has a white taxi-driver for a dad. As a young Asian man this is not what you might expect, perhaps. He’s also a vegan. A finalist in So You Think You’re Funny 2017, for me, Jamie was the act of the night, quick-witted, with good stagecraft, a natural style, and genuinely funny exploring his heritage.

Rebekah Louise feels like your mate next door but while you’re lulled by her lovely lilting Swansea accent, she sneakily pops in some thought-provoking bits about fat activism, body shaming, relationships and more.

Lynn Ruth Miller, 84, claims to be the world’s oldest stand up comedienne. You might have seen her on First Dates. She’s very funny on getting old, what happens to your body as you age, and being an older person with a healthy sexual appetite. The Zion audience loved her, but maybe it was more because we could relate to her

mix it up with carols at an event hosted by Portishead Methodist church. £10, 7.15pm. For tickets call 07835 662859. n Office Christmas Party The Tunnels, Temple Meads.

Come in fancy dress or as you are, for fun and and prizes. With DJ Abes & DJ PM playing 80s, 90s, club classics and Christmas tunes. Tickets £7 in advance.

• thetunnelsbristol.co.uk Saturday December 23 n Comedy & dining with Chris Martin Comedy Box at the Hen & Chicken, North Street.

Chris Martin is a keen observer and uses his uniquely twisted logic as he tackles earth shattering problems. Plus guests.

Dining package £30; gig only £11.

• thecomedybox.co.uk n Glam Harry Christmas Special Fiddlers Club, Willway Street, Bedminster. A 70s explosion of glitter and hair extensions. £11, 9pm.

• fiddlers.co.uk n Dirty Casino Tobacco Factory bar. Free entry to DJ set by Dirty Casino who has DJed with the likes of Don Letts, playing soul, ska and disco. 8.30-11.30pm.

• tobaccofactory.com/whats-on Sunday December 31 n Let’s Go Disco Tobacco Factory, North Street. Another multi-level spectacular New Year’s Eve party: dig out your platforms and flares as the Tobacco Factory channels the spirit of 70s disco with international headliner DJs, a Studio 54-style nightclub, and Saturday Night Fever-style lit-up dance floor. Circus performers, music, street food, a retro photo booth and a tunnel of love. £38.

• tobaccofactory.com/whats-on n New Year’s Eve at Zion Zion, Bishopsworth Road. With a Battle of the Bands, a live set from the Road Zombie and a disco till the early hours. Bar and food. Over 18s only. No sharp heels. Tickets £10 advance, £15 on the door. 8pm-1am.

• zionbristol.co.uk/events n On the Beach The Thunderbolt, Bath Road, Totterdown. It’ll be just like summer at the Thunderbolt for New Year’s Eve, with surf sounds from the Dukes of Mumbai and DJs representing Knowle, Totterdown, Windmill Hill and Brislington. Firepit, a beach bar, and beachwear competition.

Tickets £10 advance, £12 on the door, 8.30pm-1.30am.

• thethunderbolt.net

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

December 2017

southbristolvoice

n THE CITY PAGE

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BRISTOL CITY ROUND-UP

Sponsored by CLEVERLEY BUILDERS – supporting City and the best in building

The TV camera is far from being an all-seeing eye

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Sometimes TV can show when the ref has made the wrong call. But it’s not the same as being there, says MARTIN POWELL

ELEVISION and football go together like Gary Lineker and crisps. In December, for those who can’t be bothered to go to Ashton Gate, the TV provides an opportunity to see first hand whether Bristol City can keep up their recent good form.

You can watch no fewer than four matches in one month from the comfort of your armchair or barstool, including league games against Middlesbrough

MARTIN’S SHORTS • FAVOURITE opposition chant of the month came from Crystal Palace singing: “You’re nothing special, we lose every week.”

• AFTER a stutter against Burton Albion and Leeds Utd, Bristol City notched up four straight wins against Crystal Palace, Sunderland, Fulham and Cardiff City – all teams who either currently or recently occupied Premier League places. It shows the young team has the credentials to challenge at the top level.

(December 2); away to Sheffield United (December 8) and home to Wolves (December 30).

There is also a televised game against Manchester (as they keep calling their opposition in the quarter final of the Carabao Cup “Bristol” we will leave it at that, but for those who are confused it is the second highest placed team in Manchester versus the highest placed team in Bristol).

The relationship between football and television is a strange one. The all-seeing camera angles, commentaries, analysis and replays can be fantastic – but it is not the same as the roar of the crowd and the thrill of missing the all-important moment in a game.

I have been known to return from Ashton Gate and watch the whole match from beginning to end again on television to check those vital moments. I’ve also returned home and quietly deleted a recording unwatched.

Television evidence is also increasingly being used after games. City benefitted when Mat Taylor was sent off against Leeds United for the offence of being head-butted on the nose by Gaetano Berardi, who also got his

Not guilty: Mat Taylor was sent off after this incident at Leeds with Gaetano Berardi, but TV evidence showed he was innocent PHOTO: JMP marching orders. Replays showed the referee had not got it right when he judged the pair equally culpable.

A successful appeal meant Taylor was able to play a part in the demolition of Premier League Crystal Palace, spinning to score the first goal and set City up for a 4-1 win and that cup tie against Manchester.

But then City were shocked when Fulham appealed against the sending-off of Aboubakar Kamara. An independent panel watched the TV and decided Kamara was innocent and instead slapped a two-game ban on City’s captain Bailey Wright for “successful deception of a match official”.

It is only the second time such a ban has been imposed, and with the video available on the

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internet many people share my view that if it was a deception then Wright is a master at it!

I’m not sure if the retrospective use of television is a good thing. If TV evidence is going to be used, surely it is better to go down the same route as rugby and have a decision made during a game, as long as it is not used to waste time and undermine the referee.

It’s all part and parcel of the game for the referee and those running the line to get things wrong. It’s not science, it is entertainment, and arguing about an off-side has occupied many boring hours of a tedious day.

The Bailey Wright ban shows that even with TV evidence, there is no guarantee that everyone will see it the same way.

• LOFT CONVERSIONS • EXTENSIONS • NEW HOMES • GROUNDWORKS @cleverleybuildersltd

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December 2017

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n YOUR MP

KARIN SMYTH Labour MP for Bristol

The lack of social care is a business problem as well as a personal one

I

FERVENTLY believe in representative democracy. I spoke at the West of England Economic Growth Conference at the Passenger Shed in November, alongside Bristol mayor Marvin Rees and the new West of England mayor Tim Bowles. The event brought together politicians and business leaders and looked at how we could work together to achieve economic growth in the wider area (Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset). We talked about transport, skills, housing and infrastructure – all things I am passionate about improving in Bristol South.

But the infrastructure needed for economic growth is much more than roads and railways. It’s more than houses and schools. Although these clearly matter a great deal, infrastructure is also about those things

people need to enable them to contribute and benefit from economic prosperity. My challenge to the conference was to include care, both for older people and children, to infrastructure considerations.

Time lost from work, and the loss of earnings to families trying to cope with inadequate and expensive social care and child care provision, is also a cost to business and the wider economy. But who is taking responsibility for ensuring the services needed are in place? The Government relies

n LOCAL SERVICES

AERIALS

on the private sector to deliver services and on councils to manage the market. Employers require employees to be ready and able to work. Social care and childcare providers are struggling to recruit staff and stay in business, and consequently families are struggling to find a viable, affordable solution. Both systems are broken.

More positively, I spent an interesting morning at Windmill Hill City Farm in October, meeting with three local mums who decided to set up their own not-for-profit initiative – Caboodle. Caboodle offers a coworking space, lunch and pay-as-you-go childcare option for freelance parents who may not be able to commit to or afford regular nursery care for their babies and toddlers. More at: • wecaboodle.org.uk Such initiatives are to be greatly welcomed and we should encourage more; but the responsibility shouldn’t solely be that of the community. I am a great supporter of devolution done well, and that includes our councils and regional bodies working collaboratively to drive economic growth: there is a lot of opportunity here. However, if we fail to address care, then we are all missing out on a wealth of skills and experience in our local economy. We must work together to address this.

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December 2017

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