Vocalise Issue 9 by Vocalise Bristol

JANUARY - MARCH 2019

Welcome to Vocalise!

It is my great pleasure to bring you the 9th issue of the community magazine for St Pauls, St Werburghs, St Agnes, and Montpelier. This issue is packed full of exciting reads to get you going in the New Year. I’d like to thank everyone for all their help and contributions. For anyone that would like to submit to our next issue please email: info@vocalisemagazine.org.uk We honestly couldn’t get this magazine published without the help of wonderful members from this vibrant community. Thanks also to all the distributors who help get Vocalise to every household. Included in this issue are celebrations of local people, discussion about local development and what it means for the area (pg 8-9) and some great activities for kids (p. 28) Feel free to tear out our events page (p. 16-17) and get involved in some of the great things happening in the next few months. Any feedback is always greatly appreciated so please get in touch. Wishing you all a successful 2019

Supported by

vocalisemagazine.org.uk @vocaliseBristol @vocaliseBristol

Credits

Published by: Vocalise Bristol CIC Backfields House Upper York Street Bristol BS2 8QJ

Art in Ad places

Local photos

Police Update

Local artsist

Politics

Emmaus

Graffiti

Dancing for parkinsons

Barbara Disney

8-9

St Pauls regeneration

Childrens Scrapstore

10-11 Bristol Reggae Orchestra

Activities page

11-12 Bristol Credit Union

Wellbeing

Thanks to you all!

Women and Suffrage

Directors: Vandna Mehta //Kabbo Ferdinand Hilary Finch Tina Brown Muhyadin Saed Lynn Mareno Judith Davis

Carnival, reflections

YO arts fest

Fostering

18-19 CHEESE project 20

St Pauls Advice

Cllr Mike Davies

Read Easy

Please reuse this magazine. Share it, collage it, recycle it!

Contributors: Hilary Finch, Tasha Bee, Emmaus, Bristol Reggae Orchestra, Dance for Parkinsons, BCU,YO Arts, DAN, We the Curious, CHEESE, Children’s Scrapstore, //Kabbo Ferdinand, Barbara Disney, Lydia Latham MacQueen, Anna Rugerio, Rebecca Chamberlain, Cllr Mike Davies, Robbie Gillet, S.P.A Centre, Read Easy, Avon and Somerset Police, Thangam Debbonaire, Carole Johnson, Bike Exchange, Alejandra Tiana, Rob Mitchell

Contents and welcome

Vocalise Bristol CIC

THANK YOU!!! We hope you enjoy this issue of Vocalise For more content throughout the coming months, do keep an eye on our website and facebook page. www.facebook.com/vocalisebristol/ vocalisemagazine.org.uk If you want to get involved as a writer, distributor or advertiser please get in touch. info@vocalisemagazine.org.uk

Front cover art: Lauren Maria Hill Docklands Youth Centre

<a target=”_blank” href=”https://www.vecteezy.com/”>Free vector art via www.Vecteezy.com</a>

Regulated by

16-17 What’s on

info@vocalisemagazine.org.uk

Co-ordinated by: Hollyanne Schnieden

Hollyanne (Project Co-ordinator)

Contents

This is YOUR community magazine, if you’d like to be involved, get in touch!

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT

Local Photos

Brown Tina

We’d love to see your photos of happenings around Ashley here for the next issue. Why not send us your pictures to: info@vocalisemagazineg.org.uk £20 prize for the photo chosen for the front cover! Hilary Finc h

Ho llya nn

<a target=”_blank” href=”https://www.vecteezy.com/”>Free vector art via www.Vecteezy.com</a>

Saffron Smo lka

en ied n ch eS

Got any ideas...? If you’d like to be featured in the next issue please send a picture, article, poem or idea to: info@vocalisemagazine.org.uk Made by local people, for local people. Get in touch and get involved at info@vocalisemagazine.org.uk

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT

Local Artist: Tasha Bee words by Hilary Finch

I met up with the delightful Tasha Bee at her home in St Werburghs to find out just how many artistic projects she is involved with. You may have seen some of her street art pieces on the walls around our area. She has been inspired by the many talented graffiti artists she has met in Bristol, particularly my old friend Miss Hazard and also Frida Kahlo, the iconic Mexican artist. She paints a feminine character in bright colours (often her favourites - purple and turquoise!) and likes to include symbols and imagery related to the moon. Another recent venture is the Pot Heads, which are handmade, colourful, ceramic plant pots. Each pot embodies the character of the plant that forms a hairstyle. Originally from Brighton, Tasha studied graphic design at UWEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bower Ashton campus. After graduating she worked briefly in London but returned to Bristol which she now calls home. Art has always given her a sense of purpose where she can use her obsession with colour and getting her hands dirty to bring people together in her many projects.

Tasha runs art and craft sessions at Fired Up ceramics in Yate one day a week with the Brandon Trust for people living with disabilities. She spends three days a week working on the Fresh Art project in Bath and Northeast Somerset, which is working in partnership with Avon & Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, Creativity Works and the Bath Museum Partnership to reconnect people to their community and improve wellbeing through creativity, producing artwork to enliven NHS environments. She is passionate about facilitating workshops, empowering groups and individuals through creative processes. In January, she will be running pot-making workshops as part of the Get Started with Art course at Redbrick House on Wilder Street in St Pauls. This is a free vocational course run by the Princes Trust and Paper Arts on Mondays for people 18 to 24 years old. Tasha is always looking for commissions to paint more walls! email: hello@tashabee.com instagram: @keep.it.colourful graffiti: @luna.ladybee

Hilary Finch

Made by local people, for local people. Get in touch and get involved at info@vocalisemagazine.org.uk

The heart of yoga in Bristol

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Classes at Yogawest run every day for all levels and abilities. Foundation courses start regularly. Specialist classes include children, teens, pregnancy, baby massage, gentle and family.

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Find us just off the Gloucester Road, along from Bishopston Hardware. See our full timetable online.

Denmark Place, Bishopston, Bristol BS7 8NW

Advert Space

COMMUNITY NEWS

Working together to end homelessness St Pauls has been home to Emmaus Bristol for five years. It is one of several organisations in Bristol dedicated to tackling homelessness, but Emmaus has a unique approach – it provides long-term accommodation, support and work to people who have been homeless or are facing homelessness due to eviction. People accepted into the Emmaus community are known as ‘companions’. The name reflects the solidarity and peer support within the community. Emmaus is an international movement of independent charities, founded in post-war France. They are a former member of the war-time resistance and priest, Abbé Pierre, first supported a homeless and depressed man by offering him a bed and a reason to get out of it. The man was asked to help Abbé Pierre: not simply to accept his charity, but to help him build homes for mothers left destitute by the war. Remembering that there are always others who need support – solidarity – is a key part of the Emmaus ethos.

A current companion told us: “Making a contribution helps repair your spirit, and you can regain your self-esteem and confidence at your own pace”. Another, who has now moved on into full-time work and his own flat, described the routine and purpose of daily work as like a ‘ballast to a boat’. It gave his life stability so he could focus on working towards an independent future. Companions work to help themselves and their peers by volunteering in Emmaus Bristol’s social enterprises. The biggest shop, the ‘second-hand superstore’, is on Upper York Street, opposite Lakota. There’s a shop on Bedminster Parade, and a specialist vintage shop selling elegant antiques, vintage homeware and kitsch collecables on Gloucester Road near the junction with Ashley Down Road. Emmaus also operates a Portable Appliance Testing service and a House Clearance, Collections and Delivery service. Enquiries about house clearances, or donating items for re-sale in Emmaus’s shops can be made by emailing reuse@emmaus.org.uk, or phoning 0117 9540886 The Stokes Croft site is a hive of activity – as well as the shop there’s a warehouse, administrative offices and the Emmaus Business Incubator. The incubator offers desk-space and business mentoring to start-ups. The Business Incubator currently

has capacity for new tenants: anyone interested in finding out more should contact Peter Gifford (peter@emmausbristol.org.uk). Emmaus Bristol manages three houses in St Pauls. These properties can become home to companions wishing to leave the communal home to live more independently, or to others facing homelessness – the charity recently housed its first family. This flexibility to house families and couples is in response to the changing nature of homelessness Shelter estimates that one in every 170 people in Bristol are homeless. It’s a frightening figure that includes sofa-surfers, people having to live in unsuitable temporary accommodation such as B & Bs, as well as rough sleepers. The figure is the equivalent of 11 audience members at The Hippodrome, or 159 football fans at Ashton Gate. The charity’s slogan “working together to end homelessness” reflects the communal effort to sustain the organisation and rebuild lives. Around half of Emmaus Bristol’s income is generated by its social enterprises that rely on your patronage. If you’re interested in supporting Emmaus by shopping, using their services, passing on unwanted items for re-sale or making a donation you are helping people move on from homelessness. www.emmausbristol.org.uk info@emmausbristol.org.uk Find and follow on Twitter and Facebook

� in every �� people in Bristol is homeless 6

Made by local people, for local people. Get in touch and get involved at info@vocalisemagazine.org.uk

Spreading the Joy! Rachael James, a dancer and former DJ, is the founder and artistic director of the Original Spinners CIC – a community dance and arts organisation that started up in 2010. The Original Spinners is one of the many projects that were born out of the wonderful possibility that Coexist created in Hamilton House. Rachael represents one of the many ‘creative artists and social enterprises’ that started at Hamilton House. Rachael was based there from November 2009 and The Original Spinners came to life in April 2010. The Original Spinners left Hamilton House in April 2018 due to steeply increased rent. Despite this they continue to develop and deliver their work as an organisation.

‘The beating heart of the Original Spinners is community, participation, play and dance’. Drawing upon a wide range of musical influences, dance techniques, and clowning, she has developed her own style that gives room for improvisation, freedom of expression and playfulness. Rachael creates and choreographs ‘happenings’; surprise performances that invite the audience to participate, where the honesty and simplicity of the clown helps to break down the invisible social barriers that exist between us. Her ‘happenings’ completely change the energy of the room, bringing lightness and joy to

the whole proceedings. ‘I really believe that everyone can dance and that dance has real value to health and wellbeing. Dance can be seen as an inaccessible art form to many and I like to bring it into ‘non traditional settings to make it accessible to a wider audience.’

‘I have seen the hardships of every day living disappear into laughter and joy!’ And Rachael certainly does bring her work into ‘non-traditional’ settings. In February 2017 Rachael attended ‘Dance for Parkinson’s’ training, delivered through the organisation ‘People Dancing’, and the English National Ballet, specifically to work with people who have Parkinson’s. Rachael has been running a Dance for Parkinson’s class for the past year at Southmead Hospital and has now started a class at the Trinity Centre on Tuesday at 10.30am. This is a playful, gentle dance class with varied music imagery to help movement and challenge cognition. It’s a place where people support each other and where each individual’s contribution is valued. For people with Parkinson’s, dance opens neural pathways to improve

COMMUNITY NEWS posture, suppleness and balance. In Rachael’s classes you feel safe, and supported; where each individual has the freedom to express themselves in their own unique way through games such as ‘pass the move’. As a carer for a man with Parkinson’s, I have been attending the Southmead classes for the past year. Rachael has a gift for enabling people to relax and have fun. She certainly ‘spreads the joy’! I have seen participants who struggle with movement go from small movements to huge movements, seen peoples inhibitions melt away as they gain confidence, and improve mobility. I have seen the hardships of every day living disappear into laughter and joy! I’ve seen the passion of a song touch the hearts of couples as they ‘tango’ together once more! I have seen a stumble become part of a choreographed move. ‘There are no mistakes in this class, the mistakes are where the magic is’. ‘It makes me feel good, it gives me a workout, it has emotional content, and it requires interaction with other dancers. And all these benefits enable me to live with a little more ‘joie de vivre in my life’. For those who may be facing the challenges of Parkinson’s disease in this area, I invite you to come along and check out this dance class, its well worth it!’

Give us some feedback! We’d love to know how events like this help you. Get in touch on facebook and twitter #vocalise

In my view...

St Pauls Regeneration, but not disintegration

I’ve been living in St Pauls for almost 5 years, but I have known the area for nearly 15. I’m a black American woman, having moved from London to Bath in 1998 I still naturally searched for the black community. Somewhere I could find places to get my hair done, buy those ethnic specific foods and spices and just engage with people of colour! In my search for this community, I discovered St Pauls and Easton in Bristol. They were recommended to me, along with an immediate warning that when I go, I should be careful and make sure I leave before dark. At that time this was the general view of St Pauls. That it was a vibrant culturally-rich AfroCaribbean community, but it was also a dangerous area. This equally attracted and cautioned me but didn’t stop me going. I had grown up in New York City during the 1970s and at that time, vibrant but dangerous was the description of most areas of that great city. I drove regularly to St Pauls, to get my hair done and do my food shopping. I was brought up to

believe that although you should be careful in certain situations, you’re never to be afraid of your community. Previous generations of Black Americans believed that the black community was a safe-haven from an otherwise unfriendly world. Maybe I was naive, but I only saw St Pauls as a Ghetto, in the true sense of the word; an area where people of race or religion live as a result of social, economic or legal pressure. In Bristol this was that community. Whenever I came to Bristol, I never ventured anywhere else outside of St Pauls and Easton. Back in 2004, St Pauls & Easton had a reputation of being ‘cool’, whereas Bristol City was less savoury.

‘I had adopted St Pauls as my go-to community for years before I moved.’ I had adopted St Pauls as my go-to community for years before I moved. Later when my children grew up and left home, I decided to move to Bristol. I could have lived in any area, but I chose to live in St Pauls. There was culture here and it was the closest I was going to get to the diversity I was accustomed to and longed for. In the beginning, there were some annoying incidents, a couple of humorous if unpleasant experiences, but I’ve never once been fearful of this neighborhood. I’ve personally found the long-time residents warm and friendly once they understood I was living there. To me it was as good a place to live as anywhere in Bristol. I realise though, that this was not the attitude of others. Most people seemed afraid of St Pauls including

other black and minority folks who did not live in Bristol. Its reputation wasn’t entirely undeserved. It was quite a physically edgy and seedy area. One noticed the drug activity that plagued certain streets and others from all over Bristol that came to St. Pauls to buy and use drugs. This of course heightened crime and violence in the area. Portland Square was a no-go place for any respectable resident due to it being over-run with prostitution, drugs and other anti-social activity

So, whatever you want to call it gentrification or regeneration, in recent years, St Pauls has become a much more pleasant place to live for everyone. One can’t deny, the streets feel a lot safer. There are fewer suspicious looking characters roaming the streets as there is less obvious drug dealing going on. The influx of various new residents has given the community an infusion of fresh blood. We are now a diverse community including: Somali, Polish, Europeans, artists and, professionals. St Pauls and its surrounding area has become the most diverse community in Bristol. I feel that St Pauls has seen this great improvement whilst still retaining its original strong Caribbean identity and vibrant community spirit. It has become gentler and less threatening, the streets are cleaner and some have even been refurbished. Services and infrastructure have improved. It can improve more but, St Pauls has begun to get the positive attention it deserves. There is no more this guarded and cautious feeling I had walking around the neighborhood.

Made by local people, for local people. Get in touch and get involved at info@vocalisemagazine.org.uk

COMMUNITY NEWS Now, I don’t have to be nervous that I’ll be solicited as prostitute! It’s nice to be able to have an early morning coffee at the new local Milk Teeth cafe in a quiet and relaxed atmosphere. How pleasant it is to sit in The Learning Centre working, surround by locals and new residents alike knowing I will have lunch with a diverse and friendly group of people that come to eat at Glen’s kitchen. This is the best of regeneration. No other area in this city gives that warm welcome feeling of belonging and acceptance as St Pauls. My concern is not regeneration … which is just progress, it happens in a lot of communities of this type. There’s not much one can do about it unless one owns the community. What should be of concern in the community is the possible disintegration of St Pauls. Where the authorities and developers ruin the essence of this longstanding community, making great profits but not giving anything back. A responsible development project invests in the well-being and social development of its existing residents. It retains the social gathering places, like small shops and traditional pubs (the greatest British invention!) A healthy community needs places where people can still come together and socialize in a safe and congenial way. Development should encourage cohesion not disintegration. The building of these so-called luxury student accommodation block will not serve the longstanding or current community, in my opinion. It will create a glut of students who will have no interest in blending in with the locals just as the few students that live here now more or less stick with themselves. If we don’t want over-development to ruin the area, maybe the residents

should put pressure on their community and civic leaders, who should in turn negotiate better deals for the local long term established residents. Destruction of the delicate fibre of this long-standing African-Caribbean community is my real concern. We need to come together as a community and engage one another to benefit the overall community. This is my definition of gentrification. It is not new people coming to live in St Pauls or the area becoming more middle-class as that in itself is not a bad thing. We as a community need to all come together, regardless of cultural, social or economic differences to ensure that St Pauls retains its vibrant cultural base that we all embody and love so much! words by Lydia Latham MacQueen

St Pauls learning Centre

Milk Teeth Cafe

Got an Opinion...? We’d love to hear your view on this. The conversation of gentrification within the area is a hot topic, if you have a different point of view, perhaps you are a contractor or a student ... Do get in touch!

info@vocalisemagazine.org.uk

Made by local people, for local people. Get in touch and get involved at info@vocalisemagazine.org.uk

COMMUNITY NEWS

Welcome to the Bristol Reggae Orchestra!

Welcome to the Bristol Reggae Orchestra! A collective of around 25 local musicians who all love reggae. The musicians come from various musical backgrounds and experiences, bringing us a unique, inspiring and uplifting project that has the community at its heart. In early 2010, Chris Williams, a local Jamaican resident spoke to Stella Quinlivan (former co-ordinator of the St. Pauls Learning Centre). ‘What St. Paul’s needs’, he said, ‘is a reggae orchestra. What are you going to do about it’. Stella was intrigued by this idea, and researched Reggae Orchestras to find that there was only one in existence at that time. Norma Daykin, (who is the founding Music Director of the Orchestra), Stella Quinlivan, and Chino Odimba got talking to organisations, managing to secure funding from the Director of St. Georges for a threemonth project. ‘To promote the idea, we put on a reggae quiz and a talk about the project at the Learning Centre. The hall was packed with local residents, musicians and all sorts of

people interested in the idea. The first rehearsal was interesting. It must have been a huge challenge for Norma. The people varied in musical experience and reggae knowledge. Not everyone could read music or understood about playing in an ensemble. Norma was amazing at bringing people together musically and at translating reggae into an orchestral format’. Their debut concert in the renowned St. Georges concert hall was a ‘seething, toe tapping, dancehall sell out’. They have since performed at local festivals in the St. Pauls community, for refugee week where they played with refugees from different cultures bringing varied influences to the music, at the Harbour festival, The Trinity Centre and all around the South West. ‘There was a crowd of several thousand at the Bristol Harbour festival. They loved our particular blend of crowd-pleasing world music, with commanding solos and an infectious beat’. The ethos of the Bristol Reggae Orchestra is well grounded in

community values, accessibility, providing ‘educational opportunities’, inclusion, equality, and most importantly, having fun, and making music together in a relaxed environment. Reggae is at the core of this orchestra and the primary inspiration. There are also influences from Jazz, Ska, South American, Iranian, Sudanese and Classical, and the audience is entertained with a mix of original compositions as well as arrangements of well-known reggae classics. ‘We like to to include people who have little or no prior experience of working in ensemble, who perhaps don’t read music easily and who have little experience in composing or arranging music. This is how it started, and these things we endeavour to develop in the individual members of the group. Our aim is to advance the art of music, particularly reggae and music of Jamaican origin for the benefits of the public by performing such music to the public and providing opportunities to develop musical skills’

Made by local people, for local people. Get in touch and get involved at info@vocalisemagazine.org.uk

COMMUNITY NEWS An orchestra is an ensemble of many different musical voices and with that comes a range of diverse musical influences that add an ‘individual’ flavour to the orchestra as a whole, and as a ‘new member’ of this orchestra, with limited experience in ‘live performance’ and relearning ‘music theory’, I have indeed found this to be a welcoming and supportive environment, giving me the opportunity and accessibility to develop and improve my musical skills’. ‘We have been ‘researched’ too for the benefits we bring to health and wellbeing amongst members and the listening audience and we are listed in the US department of Arts and Culture as an exemplar for community music and also here through Norma’s research, as one of two exemplars for inclusive community music making’. David Insua Cao, the current musical director, has done a fantastic job at leading the Orchestra to ever-greater heights of musical cohesion and achievement. He will sadly be leaving us as his work is taking him to another city. The heart of the Bristol Reggae Orchestra lies in St. Pauls, the beating, rhythmic heart of Bristol, however, we welcome musicians from the wider community. Rehearsals are held every other Monday at the Malcolm X Centre. If you love reggae and you love making music, expert or beginner, come and join The Bristol Reggae Orchestra! We would like more trumpets, strings (violin), percussion and woodwind - including alto saxophone and a drummer.

For more information contact: membership@ bristolreggaeorchestra.com and check out their web page https://bristolreggaeorchestra.com For enquiries about bookings, press or media contact: Stella Quinlivan - stelquin@googlemail.com

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Bristol Credit Union have been helping local people save and borrow at fair rates for nearly 20 years. As the largest credit union in the South West, the not-for-profit cooperative provides ethical savings and affordable loans to over 11,000 members across Bristol, Bath and the surrounding areas. Credit unions are different from banks or other financial providers in that, when you save or borrow with them, your money has a positive local impact. Here’s how Bristol Credit Union are helping your money do good in our community. Ethical savings Member savings help create affordable loans for local people, including those who might otherwise be borrowing from payday or doorstep lenders. Last Christmas Bristol Credit Union helped over 700 families across Bristol and Bath over the festive period, saving them hundreds of pounds in interest, versus high-cost alternatives. You’re never too young to start saving either. BCU offer a children’s saving account, to help little ones get into the savings habit. They can collect savings stickers with each deposit, complete a savings card and get free gifts and a money box. Article continues bottom of p 12 Made by local people, for local people. Get in touch and get involved at info@vocalisemagazine.org.uk

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Better borrowing When you take out a Bristol Credit Union loan, the interest you pay isn’t destined for the pockets of distant shareholders. As a not-for-private-profit cooperative, your money stays in the local community – helping to provide fairer banking services; offer small loans to those who need them at much lower rates than loan sharks, payday lenders and others; and to pay returns to encourage local savings. Investing in our communities BCU invest in local projects and initiatives that support our communities. Their investment helped South Bristol Sports Centre create six new all-weather five-a-side football pitches – a vital and much used community resource. They have also helped Bristol Energy Cooperative become one of the UK’s largest generators of community energy. Improving financial wellbeing They were recently awarded the highest possible 5-star rating from the Fairbanking Foundation for their ethical loans. The award recognises BCU’s commitment to improving people’s financial wellbeing, ensuring the products they provide are fair, affordable and accessible. Doing more to keep money local As well as supporting local people and communities, BCU are proud to provide Bristol Pound accounts, furthering their commitment to help people spend locally and make the city’s economy stronger. How to join Bristol Credit Union Bristol Credit Union welcome people who live, work, or study in Bristol, Bath and the surrounding area. To take advantage of their services you need to become a member, which is easy to do. To join online you will need to be able to make a £3.50 card payment and be registered to vote at your address. If you are joining in branch, you will need proof of ID (e.g. passport or driving licence) and proof of address (e.g. bank statement or utility bill), plus £3.50 to open an account. 12

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St Pauls Carnival, what’s in store for 2019?

words by //Kabbo Ferdinand

After the nostalgia of the 50th Celebrations (or should I say) my nostalgia of the Celebrations, has been slightly tempered. The many sobering conversations I’ve had with people since (I last wrote about Carnival) brought me back down to earth. Making realise that I might have been viewing Carnival through rose tinted glasses. Perhaps it was not as good as I thought. “OK! Maybe, I might have been a bit over enthusiastic (sic), what can I say, I was just a little overwhelmed by the fact that Carnival happened!”

With this in mind I contacted Marti Burgess, chairperson of the St Pauls Carnival CIC board and asked her to fill us all in.

1) When is St Pauls Carnival happening? St Pauls Carnival will happen on the first Saturday in July, as it always has:

6th July 2019. 3) How will the board encourage the community to get more involved? There appears to have been a lack of effective communication in the past? St Pauls Carnival is a community event. It only happens with the support and involvement of the community and they were integral to the delivery of the event in 2018. Our aim is to get even more people involved in the future and we will run events, use social media, the media, community notice boards and all the channels that we can to communicate. However, we are a very small organisation, run by volunteer board members and with currently only one part time member of staff so, as always, we encourage people to come forward with offers of help and ideas and to do what they can to make carnival an enduring success.

5) What does the board need? We have recruited a new director, Charmaine Lawrence – she runs Mogul Minded and the Queens Power lunch and is a fantastic member of the African- Caribbean community doing great things in Bristol. We need more skilled and experienced people to get involved and are speaking to others about joining. We currently work together as a great team and I am looking forward to continuing working with the board to do 2019 and many future carnivals. Everybody’s invited to get involved!

2) In celebration of the St Pauls Carnival’s 50th Celebrations; what lessons were learned and what is the vision for this year’s edition? Bringing back St Paul’s Carnival is something the whole community can be very proud of. It was a fantastic event and as a new organisation we learnt a lot. We have been through a formal evaluation process with the funders, police, emergency services and received a huge amount of feedback from the community. We hope to build on the success of 2018 to deliver an even better carnival in 2019 and beyond. As a board our ambition is still to ensure that St Pauls Carnival is a resilient and sustainable organisation that can deliver an annual carnival and eventually a year round programme of events and activities.

4) When will the schools program start & how can schools who missed out in 2018 get involved? The schools programme is one of the most important elements of carnival and provides the opportunity for children across the city to learn about African-Caribbean culture and the heritage of carnival, as well as enjoy taking part in drumming, dance and music workshops, making costumes and ultimately being part of the procession. We would love as many schools as possible to be involved and our aim in the future is for all Bristol schools to have the opportunity to be involved. We are working hard to establish the schools programme for 2019 and hope we will be able to provide further information in the new year.

GET INVOLVED! https://www.stpaulscarnival.net/ Admin@stpaulscarnival.org.uk

COMMUNITY NEWS ‘The main aim is for everybody to have fun. But we also want to highlight all the amazing young talent that there is, particularly in St Pauls, and bring them all together, make space for them to connect.’ Grace Kress, creative director of PAPER Arts, described her ambitions for YO Arts Fest. That’s exactly how the night shaped up at Docklands Youth Centre. The night marked the very first YO Arts Fest, a free event hosted by young people, for young people. The festival was a chance for aspiring creatives to find out about the opportunities available to them, as well as a celebration of the creative talent that Bristol has to offer. It was the festival atmosphere; performances, food and interactive stalls that set the event apart from usual careers fairs, and what made it a success. Docklands Youth Centre quickly filled with stallholders from creative organizations all over Bristol, all with the aim to inform young people of their upcoming programmes and schemes they have to offer. Brook Tate, who performed on the night, commented; ‘‘It’s so good to see something like this for young people with such established organizations like Arnolfini, Bristol Old Vic, Knowle West Media Centre...Young people haven’t got anywhere to approach organizations on a sophisticated level about a future in the creative sector. That’s what this event is, it’s treating young creatives as adult creatives and saying “you can do this now.’ The event created a space for young people to speak to different organizations and find out about opportunities like Arnolfini’s ‘Now or Never’ programme. We The Curious played into the festival atmosphere with their interactive Curious Cube. The futuristic, mirror cube displayed curious questions that YO Arts Fest attendees had asked, such as ‘What keeps stars in the sky?’ Curious Cube crew member, Effy de Wilde told us about their aim: ‘to get people to ask more questions, be more curious, more playful.’ YO Arts Fest was clearly the right place to be. Effy agreed that the event was a great opportunity for young people and organizations to connect; ‘we want We The Curious to have a very strong position in the community, we want to interact with everyone.’

As the hosts Privanya and Nia took us through the night with comedy and games, and performances from ACE singers, rappers, and were also entertained with a moving dance duo. Artist and co-organiser of YO Arts Fest, Lauren Maria Hill painted a mural on the walls of Docklands throughout the night. The artwork reflects Docklands sportshall where it is painted and the kids that use the space everyday. Speaking about the success of the event, she commented; ‘I think it’s great.You don’t get a lot of these events put on, and before working with PAPER Arts and DAN, I didn’t know a lot about the arts opportunities. So now I feel like I’ve got a whole list of organizations that I need to link up with.’

YO Arts Fest was a huge success for the teams at PAPER Arts and DAN. Speaking to Lord Mayor Cleo Lake, she agreed that ‘the purpose of YO Arts is so that young people can see what’s out there, and can make some choices. It’s so important that people try things for themselves, and at least experience it. If it’s not for you, then fine, but make that step first to be the judge.’ Co-Organiser,Vandna Mehta, commented on the significance of the event for the area. ‘YO Arts was all about bringing people together, connecting, and collaboration. It was also important to have the event in St. Paul’s and at Docklands Youth Centre. Before YO Arts, many people were unaware that such an amazing space existed in St Pauls.’ Another great idea to come out of YO Arts Fest,Vandna highlighted, was the map of all the creative organizations in Bristol that everyone received. She said,YO Arts was a great night to literally put Docklands ‘on the map.’ The significance of the night,Vandna stated, was also the way it linked up so many organizations from all corners of Bristol,. ‘Everyone joined under one roof for a night of celebration of the arts and young people had the chance to discover all the great opportunities that are city-wide, all on their doorstep.’ The success of the night undoubtedly lay in the effortless festival atmosphere that PAPER Arts and DAN had imagined for the event. It was relaxed, fun and friendly, which encouraged young people to ask questions and find out more from all the organizations. From the comedic presenters, to the interactive stalls and the amazing food,YO Arts Fest was unlike any other event in Bristol and all came away thinking that we should have more festivals like this in the future. If you are a creative organization or venue that wants to be put on the YO Arts map, or would like to host the next YO Arts Fest get in touch with the team on hellopaperarts@gmail.com words by Rebecca Chamberlain Own a local business? Contact us about advertising space at info@vocalisemagazine.org.uk

Children in Care

Children in care in your area…. want YOU to know it not like The Dumping Ground at all!

We recently had the pleasure of meeting with the Children in Care Council of Bristol to get their views on being in care and how we can recruit more foster carers. These are some amazing children, ranging from James age 10 to Precious age 17. They meet regularly to represent the voice of some 680 children in care in the city on a range of matters. They were funny, engaging and bright, resilient and strong. They have come from backgrounds and have stories most of us cannot imagine. These children live in all corners of Bristol and it may be that a fostering family lives in your street and cares for these children, however we are always in need of more foster carers and this is what the children and young people we met would like you; the public to know.

These are their own words...

“People think that we live in care home when we tell them we are in foster care, but we don’t. We live in a family with a mum and a dad, sometimes foster siblings, sometimes our own siblings”. Tom “Sometimes people think I am in care because I misbehaved and am naughty, but it’s because my mum couldn’t look after me properly, she loves me, she just couldn’t do it.” Tyra “A good foster carer is someone who makes sure you are involved in the whole family, not stuck upstairs on your own, my foster family has taken me on holiday. We went to Portugal this year, it was my first time on a plane”. Denver “I want people to know that I still see my mum, and I can phone her when I want. My foster mum is really supportive and my mum and her get on cos my mum knows it’s the best place for me at the minute. I think some people think you don’t get to see your family once you go into care but it’s not true. I see my little sister every Saturday- we go into town together or bowling”. James “At first I didn’t like people at school knowing I was in care, because I thought they would think I had been bad and that my mum and dad didn’t want me. Now I am proud and I have stood up in front of the whole school and talked about being in foster care, because my fostering family is great and I love them very much”. Sophie “ I had a white carer first and she really didn’t know how to help me look after my hair and skin, but now I am in a long term foster placement with a black carer and she is great. She knows exactly where we can get the right stuff”. Precious Councillor Johnson for Ashley Ward says “ Our children in need, need you. If you care about this important issue, care by fostering!” Bristol City Council needs people from St Pauls, Montpelier and St. Werburghs to come forward as foster carers who can offer children and young people like this positive and stable futures. The Children in Care Council would urge you to ‘check it out’!

There is an information event in the café of St. Pauls Learning Centre on the 14th March from 6-7.30pm so please come along. Contact fostering.adoption@bristol.gov.uk or call 0117 3534155

What’s on... February and March

Feel free to tear out this page. Get involved and enjoy the events in your area. It’s a great way to meet new people and try new things.

Circomedia

If you hear of, or are running any events in February and March that aren’t listed here please get in touch. We’ll be happy to share them on our website and social media. info@vocalisemagazine.org.uk

2nd February Light Steps by Dancing Strong 7th February Scratch Night 2nd March Liquid Sky 7th March A Thousand Faces www.circomedia.com

Knowle West Media Centre

Co-Lab

7th February - Valentine laser-cut workshop 19th & 20th February Jump into Sound

2nd February From Hibernation to Social Action

Gloucester Road

March 2nd

The People’s Comedy PRSC

9th March International Food and Drink Festival

International Womens Day City Hall

1st February 7-10.30 1st March 7-10.30

http://www.communitycolab.co.uk/

Bristol Libraries new ideas created together storytime learning events author talks

shared use craft clubs

community information

conversation clubs

St Pauls Library Every Monday 2-3.30 Shared reading for adults- no prep needed Every Tuesday 2-2.30 Childrens’ Activities

literacy

job clubs

rhyme time

fundraising social clubs

computer help

Have you got ideas for your library and its building?

computer help events

storytime volunteering

sh ar ed us e

Can you or your community help make these happen?

ds lib ra ry fri en

literacy

We are holding community events across the city. For discussions on Central, Clifton, Redland, Bishopston and St Pauls libraries go to: City Hall, College Green, BS1 5TR • Tuesday 12 February 10am-12noon • Tuesday 12 February 6-8pm Please visit www.bristol.gov.uk/libraryideas to book or visit your local library for help with your booking. If you would like this information in another language, Braille, audio tape, large print, easy English, BSL video or CD rom or plain text please contact 0117 903 7370 or bristol.library.service@bristol.gov.uk

Table tennis, juniors 8-15 yr olds Mondays 6.308.30, over 15s Fridays 7pm. Docklands youth project, Brigstocke rd, BS2 8UA. Olympic sport of Fencing, Wednesdays 4.30-6.00pm, age 7 upwards. Docklands youth project, Brigstocke rd, BS2 8UA. African Caribbean Men’s W’holistic Health Support Group. Sundays from 2-8pm at Malcolm X Community Centre bs2 8YH. Social interaction, games, discussion and support for men of African and Caribbean descent.

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February 6th North Bristol Community Project - Makers Meetups Print Making (6:30 - 8:30pm - £20) materials included February 10th North Bristol Community Project - Print making for all the family (2:00 - 4:30pm - £25) materials included February 13th North Bristol Community Project - Makers Meetups Textile Brooch Making (6:30 - 8:30pm - £20) materials included February 20th North Bristol Community Project - Makers Meetups Collage Making (6:30 - 8:30pm - £20) materials included

Thursday 28th February, the Friends of Redland Library are hosting another Desert Island Books event. The venue is Redland Library and the event starts at 7:30pm, with doors opening at 7:15pm. Admission is £3 The theme for this event is “Books & Identity” and our panel comprises: Professor Richard Cheston (Department of Health & Social Sciences, UWE) Professor Julian Hughes (Medical School, University of Bristol) Nikesh Shukla (Writer, editor, Observer columnist)

nbcp84@gmail.com

From February

Free Fiction & Creative Writing Course:

Every Wednesday 6.30-8.30 St Pauls Learning Centre Free 8 week course Taught and certified by University of Bristol

Write your World --Bristolian, African & Caribbean Literature

Exploring the notion of your world with influence of Caribbean and African writing as well as local fiction.

Fully funded by the University of Bristol, 8-week course. No qualifications needed. Write your World with Billy Kahora The short story is an excellent form for writing your world – this could be either your street, neighbourhood, town, city or even county, region or country. The short story also allows you to explore your imagination beyond what you observe around you. This course will rely on short fiction from Bristol in addition to examples from the Caribbean and the African continent to help participants apply these techniques.

When? Wednesdays, 6.30-8.30pm From February Where? St. Paul’s Learning Century 94 Grosvenor Road St Pauls Bristol BS2 8XJ

Run by a university tutor from the University of Bristol’s English Department, this course is designed to be an enjoyable, confidence-building experience. For further details please contact Valentine Jackson on (0117) 928 8924 or e-mail her at English-lifelong@bristol.ac.uk

St Pauls Learning Centre Check out all the fabulous courses available including: Pottery Woodwork Stained Glass Photography http://www.stpaulslc. co.uk/courses/

ENVIRONMENT

The CHEESE Project Keeping your home warm this Winter

With the winter upon us, many of you may notice that the building you live in is not as warm as you’d like it to be, and costs a small fortune to heat. In Bristol, this is a widespread problem largely due to many buildings being over 100 years old, and lacking modern features like cavity wall insulation. However, even newer buildings with such features can leak lots of heat due to construction faults or draughts. When you look at replacing windows or installing external wall insulation, tackling these problems can be expensive, but there are much cheaper and easier ways to make big energy wins in your home. This page looks at a few common faults revealed in Bristol homes by the use of thermal imaging, and suggests how you might remedy them.

Missing loft insulation

You can clearly see insulation is missing between the joists in a loft space above, creating cold areas on the ceiling. Although there is a great deal missing here, more often there are smaller patches where it has been pushed back for access or just missed. This is an easy fix: just re-lay the existing insulation or new material in the gaps.

Cold and draughty loft hatch

Almost every house with loft access has a poorly insulated and sealed loft hatch. In the picture you can see how cold the hatch is compared to the ceiling, particularly at the edges. This is providing an easy escape for warm air rising up through a home. A loft hatch should ideally have a block of insulation on the back and fit snugly in the opening on to foam or rubber seals.

This picture shows cold draughts around the edges of a room. The householder had insulation installed underneath all of the floor, but unfortunately the fitter had not sealed up to the edges of the room. A simple fix to reduce draughts here is to run sealant such as Decorator’s Caulk around the bottom of the skirting.

Did this help?

We’d love your feedback and any other tips you may have! info@vocalisemagazine.org.uk

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Draughts under skirting

ENVIRONMENT

Draughts in window frames

Draughts around the frames of windows are a very common problem. Whether they are wooden sash or UPVC, with sustained use their seals can degrade or become damaged and they may not close as well as they once did. Although you may not feel a slight draught, when it's added up over all the windows in a home, it has a more significant effect. Adjustment of hinges and replacement of seals are quick and easy jobs to help here.

Radiators with air gaps

It’s important that your heating system is working efficiently. In this picture, the radiator has a large air cavity in it, reducing it’s performance. It is straightforward to bleed radiators to remove air from them, so it’s a job you can do yourself (but do check with a plumber if you are not sure).

These images were taken during C.H.E.E.S.E. (Cold Homes Energy Efficiency Survey Experts) surveys. The C.H.E.E.S.E. Project CIC is a not-for-profit organisation working in Bristol to identify heat loss from draughts and poor insulation, to help people keep their homes warm and to reduce the amount of energy they use. Surveys are carried out by trained surveyors over the winter months so that when the house is heated, cold spots stand out on camera. If you’re interested in having a survey done of your home, then you can find out more and apply for one now on the website: www.cheeseproject.co.uk, or email surveys@cheeseproject.co.uk if you have any questions.

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Words by Hilary Finch

While the future looks quiet I shall indulge in some local memories… As a youngster new to Bristol I moved about a lot, never in one place longer than a few months. It was 1966 when I first lived in St Pauls on Fern Street by St Agnes Park. The row was due for demolition at some point and I and my then husband lived in one attached to a working garage. We rented the wreck for £2 a week and shared electricity and water with the Jamaican mechanics who ran the garage. I would love to know if those guys are still about. This situation was convenient for Matthew, my husband, as he was a corporation gardener at the time working with his boss, the Polish head gardener who lived in St Agnes Lodge. They also cared for Mina Road Park where Matthew spent a lot of time in the shed that existed there drinking tea. Some of you might remember those halcyon days of full time parkies. Why do I mention all this? Gentrification. There is not much we can do about rising costs of building, profit margins and the ability of developers to find loopholes to avoid building more affordable homes. Sometimes buildings are in such bad repair and of little or no architectural merit – like the old houses on Fern Street – that they are best pulled down. Westmoreland House is currently getting this treatment next to the Salvation Army building. There will be new homes, shops and an open communal area making a totally new environment. We rant and rave about prices, the changing nature of our neighbourhood, but the fact is all cities develop over time and eventually people settle with the changes and life goes on. The difficulty is that there is not enough social housing anywhere in Bristol and little is being done about that.

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ENVIRONMENT

A little advice...

Am I eligible? You will automatically receive the payment if you get Pension Credit or certain other means-tested benefits. Many older members in the community are eligible for extra financial help this winter and the team at St Pauls Advice Centre How do I claim? have highlighted a number of schemes and discounts to which Contact the Pension Service (0800 731 0469) if you think you should have received a Cold Weather Payment but did you or someone you know may be entitled. not. Winter fuel payments Winter Fuel Payment or Winter Fuel Allowance is an annual Warm Homes Discount payment to help with heating costs.You only need to claim You could save £140 off your electricity bill for winter once. After this, you should receive it automatically each year, 2017/18 under the Warm Home Discount Scheme. The as long as your circumstances do not change. money is not paid to you – it is a one off discount on your Am I eligible? electricity bill, between October and March. The discount Winter Fuel Payments are made to households with someone will not affect your Cold Weather Payment or Winter Fuel born on or before 5 December 1953. The rates are higher if Payment. you are aged 80 or over. You can also qualify for the discount if you use a pre-pay How do I claim? or pay-as-you-go electricity meter. Ask about your payment or to make a claim by calling the Winter Fuel Payment Helpline on 0800 731 0160 or online at Am I eligible? www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment. You qualify for the discount if on 9 July 2017 all of the Cold Weather Payment Cold weather payments are made to eligible people when the weather is very cold.You get £25 a week when the average temperature has been, or is expected to be, 0oC or below, for 7 days in a row for each day of “very cold weather”.

following applied: -Your electricity supplier was part of the scheme -Your name (or your partner’s) was on the bill -You were getting the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit You may be able to apply directly to your electricity supplier for help if you don’t qualify because you don’t get the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit but: -You’re on a low income -You get certain means-tested benefits Check with your supplier to see if you are eligible and how to apply. How do I claim it? You will have received a letter by 30 November 2018 telling you how to get the discount. If you qualify.Your electricity supplier will apply the discount to your bill by the end of March 2019. If you don’t receive your letter but think that you qualify, you can telephone the Warm Home Discount Team at the Centre for Sustainable energy on 0800 082 2234 or visit www.home.energy@cse.org.uk St Pauls Advice Centre is a local charity whose purpose is to fight poverty and inequality in the community by providing professional legal advice, casework and representation. We equip people with knowledge and skills so they can access their rights and fulfil their responsibilities. The information in this article is provided in good faith, however, benefits and entitlements are regularly subject to change without notice.

POLITICS

Cllr Mike Davies

Discussing the dangers of advertising ...

Recently I went to a training event in the Midlands, and had to change trains in Birmingham. I had a bit of time to look around the new Birmingham New Street station and its adjacent shopping centres. The modern architecture was impressive, but I felt uncomfortable in such a corporate, commercialised setting. What I particularly disliked was the amount of advertising, especially the digital adverts. Our society is currently suffering from a mental health crisis, and advertising undoubtedly plays a role in contributing to this. Too often, it promotes unhealthy choices, materialistic lifestyles, and unattainable standards of beauty. While online we can avoid adverts by using an adblocker. However, if we are outside, advertising can be difficult to ignore, particularly when it is a bright digital display with moving pictures. The damaging effects of advertising are becoming increasingly recognised, with Transport for London (who run London’s buses, trains and trams) introducing bans on junk food adverts and those promoting an unhealthy body image. Some cities – like Grenoble in France – have gone even further, banning all outdoor advertising. In Grenoble, advertising hoardings are being replaced with trees, which instead of worsening people’s mental health help to improve it, in addition to having a positive effect on air quality and the environment. In Bristol, there is a growing movement to resist outdoor advertising, so that public spaces can belong to communities and not to corporations. Adblock Bristol (adblockbristol.org.uk) do some great work in raising awareness of these issues and opposing applications for harmful advertising in the city. This issue is particularly relevant at the moment because there has been a spate of planning applications for digital advertising screens. Some of these are proposed next to busy roads such as motorways and dual carriageways. In my work on the Development Control Committees (which consider contentious planning applications in the city) I have helped to refuse several of these applications. In our area, a large digital screen was proposed next to the M32 in St Werburghs, which I opposed and was also refused. Not only are such adverts unsightly, but pose a danger to public safety by increasing the likelihood of car accidents. Companies have also applied for a plethora of ‘phone box’ applications in and around the city centre, including in locations in Stokes Croft and St Pauls. This might appear odd since phone boxes are used less and less frequently. However, the real purpose of these ‘phone boxes’ is to host a digital advertising screen, meaning that even while walking down the street we stand to be bombarded with adverts. The local planning authority has tried to resist these so far and has largely been successful, but companies may keep attempting to re-apply for permissions.

Got something to say...? We’re looking for contributions for our next issue. If something has sparked your interest or you have an idea for a story please get in touch. We need people to write, draw and help distribute our community magazine.

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COMMUNITY NEWS

Read Easy...

Read Easy Bristol is Helping More People Learn to Read Did you know that many people in UK struggle to read? 1 in 20 people over the age of 18 have a reading age of 5 years old or less (Skills for Life Survey2011). This means they will be unable to read labels in supermarkets, bus time-tables, write a shopping list, read to their children, or even spell their own address. They are much more likely to be unemployed and live in poverty. People may have reading difficulties for a variety of reasons, including poor schooling, special needs, disrupted childhoods, or dyslexia. Many of these people hide their difficulties, having been shamed at school. They often find classes difficult and miss out on adult learning schemes. We offer one to one help that is friendly, flexible and free. We recruit and train volunteer reading coaches and match them to people who want help. We see people in a public venue close to the reader’s home. For more information please see: https://readeasy.org.uk/what-we-do/. We are affiliated to Read Easy UK (https://readeasy.org.uk). We started as Read Easy South Bristol in January 2015, and more recently have expanded to cover Central Bristol with an aim to extend across the whole of Bristol. We are very grateful to our main funders, the Quartet Foundation and John James Bristol Foundation Trust for enabling us to help people in South Bristol and more recently thanks to a generous donation from the Big Lottery we can now expand across a wider area of Bristol. We are looking for volunteers including coaches, coordinators, a development worker and management team members. For more information contact us at bristol@readeasy.org.uk.3 Rica Newbery Management Team Read Easy Bristol

Bristol Libraries: New ideas created together Have you got ideas or suggestions for your library and its building? Can you help make these ideas happen? We are inviting you to come along to one of our community events running from January, which will bring local people and organisations together to look for opportunities for community-led activities and partnerships to create a library service for the future. This is everyone’s opportunity to work together to pilot new ideas. The library service is greatly valued but it needs to change to be more relevant to the neighbourhood and local people. We need to work together to create a library service which will serve future generations and be well connected to everything else that’s going on in the local area. This is your chance to be part of it – just come along with your ideas. The following events are taking place – the libraries being discussed at each event are detailed in the listing – please book on to the relevant one for the library you are interested in. City Hall Tuesday 12 February 10am-12noon Tuesday 12 February 6-8pm Libraries being discussed: Central, Clifton, Redland, Bishopston and St Pauls

www.bristol.gov.uk/libraryideas 22

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Art in Ad Places- Burg Arts

COMMUNITY NEWS

Words by Robbie Gillet, Ad Block Bristol

“Art is advertising for what we really need,” argues the social critic Alain de Botton. In St Werburghs a disused billboard at the Mina Road roundabout has been resurrected to provide a space for community artwork in 2018, providing an alternative to the four corporate advertising billboards on the opposite side of the road. This board has been host to five different pieces this year, showcasing some local and national artistic talent. Unlike commercial marketing campaigns, which typically impose images and messages without the say of the local people, many of the artists worked with local community groups to devise the content for the Burg Arts board. Artist Matt Bonner held a workshop with the St Werburghs Neighbourhood Association to come up with the concept for his first artwork; Bill Posters conducted a door-to-door survey about what residents value in the area; and Aide Wilde ran a drop-in stall at the Mina Road Picnic in the Park event in September 2018. For the final billboard piece in 2018, Ava Osbiston collaborated with a children’s group at the City Farm. Ava explained, “We spent an afternoon discussing what they liked in the local area and on the farm and why they enjoyed coming to visit. A big attraction for them was all the cute animals of course but the children also mentioned the people they know through the farm, the plants, flowers and the open space- and the climbing frame at the city farm café!” The children then drew sketches of the things they particularly liked and were encouraged to colour in each others drawings to encourage a collaborative approach. They also made rubbings of different textures that are found around the farm. Ava then combined them into one collage image- re scaling some of the characters to avoid the farm’s goat appearing twice the size of a tree. The final collage piece was photographed and sent off to be printed 10 foot tall by 20 foot wide. Ava said: “I think children’s drawings are immediately relatable and beautiful- kids are curious, free and creative in ways that many ‘trained’ adult artists have forgotten. It was an absolute pleasure to work with that group of young artists and to hear their perspectives. It’s a wonderful process to see drawings that started off just a few centimetres big being installed onto a billboard 10 feet high.” Our eyes and minds are crowded with commercial images throughout the city and on our phones, tablets and other screens. The Burg Arts billboard gives us a rare chance to provide an alternative to the financially driven messages pushed on us through corporate advertising. Instead of new cars, junk food, fizzy drinks or fast fashion, art can give prominence to the things we need in our lives: connection, community, friendship, nature, solidarity, purpose, safety and healing. “Art can move people, it works in mysterious ways and we need it,” explains Ava, “It can lift us up, empower us and provide much needed respite from the stresses of modern life.” The group behind the project, Adblock Bristol, is working with groups in Bedminster to convert more commercial billboards into community arts boards in BS3 - and plans to continue with the Burg Arts project in 2019. We want a happier, healthier and less stressed-out city with a visual environment that values our local economy, our local communities and our creativity. If you’re interested in contributing artwork to the Burg Arts project in 2019, email adblockbristol@gmail.com. All the of the 2018 artworks can be seen at www.adblockbristol.org.uk/burgarts

Police Update

With the drop in temperature, there can be a drop in demand for some police resources - although no-one ever expects a silent night! But this is never the case for the neighbourhood policing teams, which I am proud to represent. The days get shorter but our shifts stay the same, and the long-term, community based issues that we focus on are always there for us to address. In the run up to the winter holidays we were fortunate to be invited to many community events, from carol singing to street parties, making the most of opportunities to talk to local people and find out what matters most to them. We’ve been increasing the number of local community groups that we link into,

from supported living, to nurseries, to youth groups and faith groups. Having a single point of contact and a regular, familiar face improves the relationship between the community and the Constabulary, encouraging people to report things that they might have kept to themselves, or amongst their neighbours. It also shows our willingness to listen and our desire to make a difference; whether that’s working with the council and housing providers to address anti-social behaviour, or using our expertise to crack down on criminal activity. Recently we have had success with both, removing problematic individuals from our area so that residents get some well-deserved peace, whilst also helping the most vulnerable people in our communities to get the support they need. Please get in touch if you are part of a group that would like to work alongside us. All of our PCs and PCSOs now have access to laptops and mobiles, meaning we can come out to you wherever you are. We are looking to set up a number of regular beat surgeries across the ward so that you can drop by and tell us what’s affecting you. We have some venues in mind,

Community Spirit

but I’d like to hear if you have an idea of somewhere we could set ourselves up for a shift. As a starter, we will be running these sessions every month in the Halston Drive area, thanks to improved contacts within that community, and want to replicate this across the ward. Please see your local beat pages on the Avon and Somerset Police website for more details. I hate to end on a downer, but I need to let readers know that at the end of January 2019 we are losing a valued, respected, and knowledgeable member of our team. PC Ifor Williams, who many of you will know as ‘Sarge’, has been part of the St Pauls beat team for almost ten years, and after a distinguished career which saw him being awarded the Queens Policing Medal (QPM), the highest accolade in policing, is finally set to retire. Local people will miss his affable and dedicated approach towards his job, and the communities he served. I can promise residents that we will continue to invest in the relationships that Ifor has worked hard to establish, and approach our role with the same dedication and resolve. Thank you, Ifor.

MP: Thangam Debbonaire

The Latest from the Local MP...

The most important role for me in Parliament is to represent communities. I am always struck by Bristol neighbourhoods’ wonderful sense of identity and pride. We like being Bristolians. We love our city even when we’re frustrated with it. We want it to be better, but we like what it says about us when we say ‘St Paul’s is my home’, or ‘I love living in St Werburghs’, or ‘I’m from Montpelier’. Although we may feel a sense of joy and pride in where we live, are we all doing our bit to ensure our communities are safe, warm and welcoming for everyone? In your own neighbourhood, how many people do you know well enough to chat to? Whose name do you know? I am sure most of us can think of a few names – but wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could increase that? I think most of us want to live in neighbourhoods built on

a trusting community spirit. I’d like all of us, including me, to pledge to do more to keep that spirit growing in 2019. As I write this, I am looking forward to the Christmas break. People often talk about Christmas being a lonely time for some people, but it’s not just at Christmas we need to take time to chat and look out for each other. If you can find time to invite someone round for a cup of tea, or include them in a get-together, or go with them to the shops, please do. Age UK estimates there are 1.4 million chronically lonely older people in England. New parents and carers can also feel cut off from their community. But it’s bigger than this. Loneliness and isolation can also affect people from any walk of life. We should make an effort to reach out to people all year round. I realise I have some new-ish neighbours I haven’t met yet, so I’m making a New Year’s resolution to change this. I look forward to seeing you all in 2019!

Commission for Race Equality

POLITICS

Councillor Carole Johnson

I really hope you had a great Christmas. 2018 certainly was an eventful year! The Children’s Charter, the BAME Magistrates Recruitment Drive The successful return of the St Paul’s Carnival hosting over 100,000 visitors for the 50th celebrations!!! Bristol City Council has been officially accredited as a living wage employer And the Launch of the Commission for Race Equality (CORE). With the rise in hate crime and uncertainties of Brexit, I am really glad to be one of the appointed commissioners of Bristol City Council’s new Commission for Race Equality. The Commission for Race Equality (CORE) has been set up by Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees to look at race and ethnicity discrimination in Bristol. Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities in the city experience significant inequalities in: education employment, health, housing, policing and the law. The Commission will develop the existing manifesto document to set out the areas of focus for Bristol and Develop an action plan to make sure what is in the manifesto is actioned! It will also hold public, private and voluntary sectors to account in relation to race equality, work to improve the current race equality statistics whilst working with policy and strategy developers in the council and other organisations to make sure race equality is included in all of their work. It will be in close communication with organisations such as the Police and Criminal Justice System about how their ways of working inequalities and impacts on our BME communities. With a clear intention to work with Bristol’s BME communities providing independent scrutiny with groups such as the Strategic Leader’s Group for Race Equality and Race Equality in Education Group. If you would like to know more about the organisation or have an issue you would like to discuss pertaining to CORE issues then please follow this link. https://www.bristol.gov.uk/policies-plans-strategies/commission-for-raceequality-core

The CORE Commissioners include : Desmond Brown (chair) Sandra Gordon Sandra Meadows Maya Mate-Kole Cllr Asher Craig Nishan Canagarajah Vernon Dowdy Ann DeGraft-Johnson Esther Deans Nick Young Cllr Carole Johnson Robishia Temple Sumita Hutchinsons

And for those of you who would like to know more, this is our yearly report. Race Equality Strategic Annual Report on: www.bristol.gov.uk/documents

Bike exchange

The big news is that a 25 year lease has been signed by Art Play Environment Project CIC securing the future of ‘Ventures’ as an open access adventure playground for many years to come. This has been a huge victory for the organisation after 18 months of battle with the local authority to get the best deal possible for this invaluable community asset. This has also triggered the release of a £100k Community Infrastructure Levy grant to redevelop to children’s kitchen at the playground and to create a bakery/coffee kiosk serving bread pastries and drinks to users of St Agnes park throughout the year. The Children’s Bike Exchange Workshop will also be expanding to meet increasing demand and please visit us for any Christmas bike exchanges! We believe that 2019 will be a great year for the playground so watch this space and pop in. Workshop will also be expanding to meet increasing demand, so please visit if you need any pre or post Christmas bike exchanges! Visit during our play sessions on Thursdays 3.15 to 6.15, Friday 3.15 to 6.15 and Saturdays 1.00 til 5.00 Made by local people, for local people. Get in touch and get involved at info@vocalisemagazine.org.uk

Graffiti and Greed in Bristol

Alejandra Tiana

The golden age, where graffiti pieces on the walls are considered by their artistic qualities, has been shut down. After Bristol City Council has declared the social project around the Bear Pit failed and left Hamilton House to be strangled by avarice, can we consider the city officially ruled by fast profits? If you ask anybody, even abroad, about Bristol, they will refer to the special character that’s always friendly and to the vibrant energy. Rast, an artist whose work you can find across the city, tells us why he chose to move here: “the big number of graffiti and a network of walls”. An attraction for visitors is for urban art, with several tours that move the people across the city. Every surface is crossed by the creativity of the artists that inhabit the hoods, plus others that come down to the city to hang out at the walls which have names that are now famous. The pieces lay one over the other in a colourful storm of inventiveness; commercially channelled to Up Fest, with worldwide notoriety. Despite all this friendly climate Rast recognizes that “actually it’s a hook to attract tourism because this activity is strongly fined and pretty persecuted”. The traditional soul of the city’s rebelliousness and independence is to be taken by the local authorities as art offence, and actually, they spend much more than any other city in the UK on erasing this collective memory. Some of those names have a criminal past with prosecutions for tagging, vandalizing and anti-hygienic attitudes and linking it to other unlawful activities. Times where Banksy, creator of, arguably, the best-loved works of graffiti art in the UK, had the longest queue out of the museum, and made every Bristolian feel proud. His name may (now) belong to the past but now it’s these emerging artists who make our heads spin with clumsy attempts, where the next masterpieces will emerge. Is that breeding ground the actual power of the city? All these future names are now performing on the ‘stage’ before going into the industry, nourishing the experience that will make the difference. Every year hundreds of students decide to remain here to launch their careers. Macarena Costan, a professional photographer who decided to remain in St Werburghs described “an effervescent place, open-minded, and a variety of people that encourage you to raise your voice and feel understood by your surroundings, for the brave past of the city”. But not everything is just sweet words. “Bristol is more approachable than London, but could be harder workwise due to the excellent artists that attract and the insufficient structure of galleries”. Considering that the UK is the second largest market in art sales worldwide, but with 82% of artists earning under £10k per year, it seems that choosing this way of life is a for art’s sake. In recent times, the cost of living in Bristol has skyrocketed, making survival unbearable for many. Community projects and affordable studios are now more necessary than ever. Actions of PRSC who are filling up the depressed buildings with murals taking back the voices of the citizens. The BCC covers up floors, with a rubbered painting that makes easier for cleaning up, but unfortunately, this gives it a worn down appearance and it needs constant maintenance. So the fact that Bristol is ahead in public art commissioning could sound great, but shouldn’t that production be monitored too. The unclear circumstances under which the Cube was removed from the Bear Pit, makes us think about a possible lack of intention to deal with the criticism.

Why not get involved? We’re looking for writers and creative people to contribute to our blog and next issue. We rely on you as a community for our wonderful content. Be you poet or painter get in touch: info@vocalisemagazine.org.uk

Made by local people, for local people. Get in touch and get involved at info@vocalisemagazine.org.uk

Barbara Disney working for wellbeing

A bit about Barbara

Mental health is often on our minds these days with one in four of us suffering at one level or another. Doing something different, mixing with new people, a new venue and new creative challenges in a safe environment help us feel more included in our communities and stimulates our lives, easing tension or pain. New programs are being developed by Barbara Disney, Beki Lines and Julie Matthews of creative Shift who have a long track record of delivering arts on referral in Bristol and South Gloucestershire. They have devised different projects in many parts of Bristol, our local one is hosted by St Pauls Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Centre on Little Bishop Street where a creche is also provided. Participants of such programs experience wide reaching personal gains, help with stress levels, a reduction in depression and far less isolation and loneliness. In addition, exhibiting their work to a wide audience also empowers greater self esteem and confidence. Barbara Disney runs this St Pauls programme on Wednesdays from 12.45 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2.45pm. Rethink, DHI (Developing Health and Independence) and other health care professionals are able to refer individuals. This project is aimed at people with low to moderate mental health issues. If you feel this might be for you, Referral Forms and information can be obtained from wellbeingarts.org. In addition Barbara and Beki were also involved with the Recovery Festival held in St Agnes Park in September. During a series of workshops they worked with participants to create a large scale sculptural book structure which tells a collective story of a personal or universal journey to recovery. The installation is now touring appropriate venues, including the Arts and Health South West Conference in December.

Contact can be made via creativeshiftbristol@gmail.com. To see other creativeShift projects visit the Facebook page @creativeshiftarts

St Pauls Mosaic

Barbara Disney is once again making mosaics. Her previous projects can be seen outside St Pauls Learning Centre, and the dragon at Albany Green among others. She will be monitoring a new program for emerging artists interested in facilitating workshops with children and creating public art. There is an opportunity to work on this mosaic project in a freelance capacity and payment will be made depending on the role taken. This is being financed by creativeShift, Sovereign Housing and Paper Arts. For more information and to register your interest contact Barbara by email:

barbara.disney@talk21.com.

Words by Hilary Finch 27

Tissue Paper Lanterns The tail end of winter can be dark and dreary… Bring the light in! Make it cosy and cheery! These colourful lanterns are super easy to make, and the best thing of all is that you can make them with things you might already have at home!

Step 1.

Blow up your balloon! (Don’t forget to tie a knot in it). When you get your breath back, sit it in a large mixing bowl or similar so it can be decorated with ease.

Step 2.

Take your tissue paper and tear or cut it into small strips as you go. You won’t be covering the whole balloon – leave a space at the top like the shape of a fish bowl (it might help to draw a line round the top with felt tip). Paint some glue on a section of the balloon, place a strip of the tissue paper on the glued part, then paint over the strip with more glue…sticky finger alert! Repeat with another strip, slightly overlapping as you go. Carry on like this until you have completed one layer on the balloon.You can mix the tissue paper colours up as you go, being careful to keep track of which layer is which. Ideally, it’s best to leave it for at least 4 hours between layers, drying the balloon on top of a radiator. If little fingers are impatient though, it can be done with as little as an hour between layers.

Step 3.

Once you have applied layer one proceed to layer two. It’s quite fun to stick things between the layers as you go, so that they make patterns as the light shines through. Examples include leaves or snowflake cut-outs, which you can make yourself. Do you have any other ideas?

Step 4.

Add a third layer of paper to strengthen the lantern. Once you have done your three layers allow the lantern to dry thoroughly. If you can, let it dry overnight before proceeding to the next stage.

Step 5.

Once your lantern has dried….POP THE BALLOON! (This is one of our favourite parts!). Gently peel the burst balloon out.You will be left with a tissue paper and glue shell. Trim the edge of the tissue paper layers so that it is straight all the way around. Poke a hole in all four directions, about 2cm from the top so that you can thread some string through.

Step 6.

Pop an LED tea-light inside, switch on and hang up (we recommend using an electric tea light or some battery-operated fairy lights, rather than wax candles and flames, just to be on the safe side). In the window is good so you can show off your lantern to passers by!

TOP TIP!!!

Don’t have any tissue paper? You can use baking paper, and the thin paper often found in shoe boxes (hold your nose!), tissues for sneezing in and toilet paper. It’s true! Also, if you have no glue, don’t panic. Try mixing a little flour with warm water in a mug until you have a glue-like consistency, and use that instead. 28

Activities and Fun Super Saturday Sample Sessions Did you know...? Children’s Scrapstore run a FREE family making session from 2-4pm on the last Saturday of the month. Each month there is a different variety of craft activities to try. Just drop-in! Saturday ArtClub Our weekend drop-off ArtClub for ages 6-10 will be back on January 26th! We’ll be making paper, binding homemade books, exploring paper engineering and going all out for decorative techniques… (£8/£7) Book online for a single session, or phone for discount on a block of four sessions. www.childrensscrapstore.simplybook.it 0117 9143002

DID YOU KNOW? Captain Blackbeard, the infamous pirate, used to hide in a port near Bristol CAN YOU FIND THEM?

Wordsearch

AFTERNOON, BEDTIME, DARKNESS, DAWN, DAYBREAK, DAYLIGHT, DAYTIME, DIURNAL, DUSK, EVENING, EVENTIDE, FIRST LIGHT, FORENOON, GLOAMING, LIGHT, MIDNIGHT, MOONBEAM, MOONLIGHT, MORN, MORNING, NIGHT, NIGHTFALL,NIGHTTIME, NOCTURNAL, NOON, RAYS, STARLIGHT, SUNBEAM,SUNDOWN, SUNLIGHT, SUNRISE, SUNSET, SUNSHINE, TWILIGHT.

We’ve hidden some lanterns throughout the magazine! Go through and see if you can count them all. Have a go at making your own lantern too! I found...

Email us for the chance to win a prize! info@vocalisemagazine.org.uk

Made by local people, for local people. Get in touch and get involved at info@vocalisemagazine.org.uk

Happiness

Life can sometimes be a little tricky for us sensitive human beings. We have an abundance of things accessible at our finger tips yet many of us are suffering with a dark feeling of misplacement.

Words by Anna Ruggerio

Whether your vice is drugs, sex or social media (the list goes on), we planetary creatures are stuck in a consuming loop and trying, in whatever way we can, to get that extra hit of happiness. We base our wellbeing on a plastic life and digital validation, and like addicts, we’re on a mission to be fixed. Being brought up in a capitalist society, it’s no wonder we believe that happiness comes from purchasing the bigger house or having the perfect looking face and don’t get me wrong; these things can all make you happy. The only problem with constantly satisfying yourself from the outside in, is that you’ll always be seeking more and the wanting mind is a hard master to please. It’s hard to break free from a lifetime of materialistic indoctrination. But it has to end some time and maybe now is the time. The time to realise that all you have is enough. To realise that you’re enough. Happiness isn’t a word laced in gold with a price tag and it need not be in some far away place. In fact, all the happiness you’ll ever need is stored safely inside you and you have the key. To truly connect with authentic happiness, silent contemplation through meditation and creativity are both winners in my eyes. I spoke to Kelsang Lamchen who is a Resident Teacher at Amitabha Kadampa Meditation Centre on Gloucester Road. She told me: “Very simply, happiness is a state of mind and through meditation we can learn to develop and maintain peaceful, positive states of mind that naturally increase our happiness and well being.” The mind plays tricks and although you may see it as a trusted friend, it can sometimes be a dark enemy trying to trip you up at every corner.

Image by Nathan Robinson

The key is to become the watcher of your thoughts and the observer of your mind. If you allow the flow of negative thoughts to come and go like waves on a beach, you’ll find that moments of sadness and anxiety are much less controlling and daunting as you simply let the thoughts come and go without identifying too much with them. Turning negative energy into creating art and/or music will also help you see a lovely inner-transformation as again, it’s about releasing feelings rather than covering them up. Bristol is a hive of creativity and there’s never any shortage of spaces to connect and create. For inspiration on local courses and events, check out the What’s On section of the magazine. Get writing too. Writing down your thoughts really helps to make sense of what’s going on inside your head and removes all thoughts from your mind to the paper, making room for more thoughts! I’ve found that keeping a gratitude journal is also a really cool way to remind yourself just how amazing your life really is. So when you’re feeling low, try and remind yourself that you’re enough (and this 100% includes your flaws) and that you have enough for now. Once you accept your present situation, a lot of magic happens.You open your mind and heart to new possibilities. Don’t be afraid to tell others how you’re feeling too as you’ll often be amazed to hear that other people are going through similar struggles and their life isn’t just one big flawless Facebook selfie. Simply remember that you are doing your best and that’s good enough right now.

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We are Warriors

A refusal to be silent. Celebrating 100 years of women’s right to vote. words by //Kabbo Ferdinand

2018 was quite an extraordinary year for women living in the UK. (Why, you ask?) Well, some, women in Britain celebrated 100 years of having been granted the right to vote after years of campaigning. By some I mean, in 1918 only women over 30 with property could vote, then in 1928 all women were granted the right to vote. The centenary year was commemorated through a series of initiatives and events organised by the charity Bristol Women’s Voice. It formed part of the government’s national 7 Centenary Cities program that celebrated the bravery and tenacity of the suffragette movement in Britain. In Bristol it culminated with the We Are Warriors sound and light installation; a short film and live performances at the Arnolfini from 1st - 16th December 2018. We Are Warriors was commissioned by Bristol Women’s Voice for Deeds Not Words, a programme to celebrate 100 years of women’s right to vote. It was produced by In Between Time with support from Arnolfini and funded by the Government’s Equalities Office and Arts Council England. We Are Warriors incorporates the voices of 130 women and girls, ranging from 8 - 85 years old from Bristol accompanied by a lighting exhibition that shine, whisper, roar and sing their way from the past, to the present and into the future. It was set up in a dark room; the tiny lights as representative of each of the women, with the sound scape of their voices playing in the background, creating quite a moving, visceral experience. An ethereal effect was created with the lights forming a vast and powerful constellation against the black room/universe it was placed in. The public could create their own lights and add it to the exhibition to participate and show support. It was a moving experience and the conversations I had with women after was revealing and inspiring to me as a man... Artistic Director of In Between Time, Helen Cole said; “From the age of 13 many a girl’s voices are already far quieter than her male peers. How can this still be true today? We Are Warriors encourages women to roar and shout, to fill the room with their noise. It has been a privilege to hear these voices sing.” Artist and poet on the night Folake Shoga; “It is important for the whole of society that half of society is not denied a voice.You know I can’t even be bothered to argue that position. If you say only half of the society gets to decide and say what is right, get’s to be able to buy things, to work, to have their money, to tell everybody what to do. I have nothing to say to you if that is your opinion. Then what is important and why is it important to you?” Equality is important for balance and for the health of any society. We have come a long way since the days, we were burning innocent women at the stake. However, it is still something that we need to continuously work at, as with so many other ills in our society. Especially now, as we are witnessing the rise of racist, heightened nationalistic, conservative governments, movements and rhetoric around the world. In a different project; local author Jane Duffus has published a book, The Women Who Built Bristol 1184-2018, that celebrates the legacies of the women who helped build this city. In it is a section that focusses on the impact suffragettes had on shaping Bristol. We all have our role to play in ensuring that we, individually and collectively create a more inclusive, cohesive society in Bristol, Britain and the World. Facebook: @BristolWomensVoice Twitter: @BWV2 Instagram: @bristolwomensvoice Are you running an event locally? Contact us about advertising space at info@vocalisemagazine.org.uk

PRINCESS & THE HUSTLER Written by Chinonyerem Odimba | Directed by Dawn Walton An Eclipse Theatre Company, Bristol Old Vic and Hull Truck Theatre co-production

9 – 23 Feb The Weston Studio

From £16

0117 987 7877 bristololdvic.org.uk

  @BristolOldVic #PrincessAndTheHustler Illustration Cressida Djambov Charity No. 228235

Princess_and_the_Hustler_A4_Poster_AW.indd 1

09/01/2019 18:50