People in the Fishponds area took part in events to mourn Queen Elizabth II and mark the accession of King Charles III.
PAGE 6
Cuts to bus services from October 9 will leave vulnerable residents "utterly isolated", a meeting was told.
A FAMILY has been left "inconsolable" after a young father-to-be from Fishponds was stabbed to death.
Takayo Nembhard, who was 21, was attacked as he visited the Notting Hill Carnival in London. He was expecting a child with his girlfriend and was building a career as a rapper, recording and
performing as TKorStretch.
The father of the former Bristol Rovers academy player, who had also worked for Bristol City Council before pursuing a career in music, has called on people to stop carrying knives in the aftermath of the murder.
Full story: Page 3
PAGES 4 & 5
Cameras coud be installed to help enforce a ban on left turns from Fishponds Road into Hockey's Lane.
PAGE 9
Fishponds director and writer Gabriela Staniszewska (second left) is celebrating after a film she wrote as a "high octane step-by-step guide into overcoming postnatal anxiety" won three awards at a martial arts and action movie festival. Report: Page 11Ken McCormick
07715 770377 news@fishpondsvoice.co.uk
Linda Tanner news@fishpondsvoice.co.uk
Brookfield Publishing
Tel 07540 383 870
sales@fishpondsvoice.co.uk
Facebook fishpondsvoice
Shaun Edwards
Tel 07540 383 870
sales@fishpondsvoice.co.uk
Twitter @fishpondsVoice Instagram fishpondsvoice
To ensure your news or letters are included, please contact us by Wednesday October 19. Advertisers are asked to contact us by the same date.
Bristol City Council http://www.bristol.gov.uk 0117 922 2000
Police www.avonandsomersetpolice.uk general enquiries: 101 Emergency: 999
Fire www.avonfire.gov.uk
General enquiries: 0117 926 2061
Emergency: 999
NHS 111
Safer Stronger team sscg@southglos.gov.uk 01454 868009
Anti social behaviour team asbreporting@southglos.gov.uk 01454 868582
Streetcare/litter/vandalism etc streetcare@southglos.gov.uk
Environment/trading standards 01454 868001
Well Aware
Health and social care information www.wellaware.org.uk Tel: (freephone) 0808 808 5252
Despite our best efforts, we sometimes get things wrong. We always try to resolve issues informally at first but we also have a formal complaints procedure. If you have a complaint about anything in the Kingswood Voice, contact the publisher using the details below. We aspire to follow the Code of Conduct of the NUJ (National Union of Journalists), which holds journalists to a high standard of behaviour. Further details of the complaints process can be obtained by contacting the Publisher.
A member of the
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Fishponds 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 cannot vouch for any services offered. Opinions are not necessarily those of the editor. Fishponds Voice is distributed each month to local residents in Fishponds and the surrounding areas. If for some reason you do not get a copy, please get in touch or collect one from local pick-up points. Feedback is welcomed, call Brookfield Publishing on 07540 383870 or email news@fishpondsvoice. co.uk. This month 8,000 copies will be distributed in Fishponds and the local area.
To advertise, contact Shaun Tel 07540 383 870
How the new development would look from Lodge Causeway.
Picture: OXF Architecture
PLANS to redevelop a prominent site at one of Fishponds' busiest junctions have been approved.
Car dealer Newton Motors has been given permission to demolish its premises at the corner of Lodge Causeway and Fishponds Road and replace it with a development of eight four-bedroom houses and a three-bedroom flat above a shop unit.
The company originally applied for permission in 2020 to build a seven-storey block of flats at the site, opposite Beacon Tower, which were thrown out after more than individual 100 complaints and a petition of 200-plus names opposing the scheme.
Plans for a "substantially reduced" development were submitted at the start of this year and this time seven objections from neighbours were received.
Agents LPC Trull said the development would “wrap around” the site's frontages to Fishponds Road and Lodge Causeway and would include nine allocated parking spaces, plus a disabled parking space and turning area for vans delivering to the shop, so they could pull on to the site.
City council planning officers have now approved the plans using delegated powers, which means the site can now be redeveloped.
Giving its reasons for the decision, the council said it complied with planning policies by making make "efficient use" of an existing site surrounded by residential and commercial premises, and was at a density which was "acceptable and appropriate".
Officers said the nine new homes would be "significantly contributing to the 3,000 required in the local area and the 30,600 needed in Bristol as a whole", adding: "The proposed development would not excessively impact on housing compositions in the locality and would help to alleviate the shortfall of four-bedroom dwellings in Eastville."
Newton Motors, which has traded in the city for more than 70 years, now has three years to begin the development, which must comply with a list of 14 legal conditions relating to issues including appearance of the buildings, drainage, car and bicycle access and storage.
Please contact Emily to book your place on 07974252486
email: info@teachmepilates.co.uk or find me on facebook and Instagram: Emily Osborne Pilates
Email: sales@fishpondsvoice.co.uk
Got News? Call Ken On 07715 770377
THE father of a young Fishponds man who was stabbed to death at the Notting Hill Carnival has called for people to stop carrying knives.
Takayo Nembhard was 21 and expecting a child with his girlfriend when he was attacked on August 29.
The former Bristol Rovers academy and Yate Town youth footballer was building a career as a rapper, recording and performing as TKorStretch, after previously working as an apprentice at Bristol City Council.
He had attended St Matthias and Dr Bell's Primary Schoolnow known as Fishponds C of E Academy - and later attended Sir Bernard Lovell Academy in Oldland Common, where he had been a house captain.
Takayo's family and friends are "inconsolable" at his murder, and a fundraising campaign has been launched by his manager, Chris Patrick, to help his partner Oshian Edwards and his family raise his unborn son.
His father Vincent visited the scene of Takayo's stabbing at Ladbroke Grove in London in September.
Mr Nembhard told broadcaster Sky News the loss of his son had been "devastating" for the family.
He said: "He was just a good kid, just came to carnival to enjoy the festival with his sister, but then his life was just taken away. We loved him dearly and he loved us.
"This must stop. Carrying a knife is the wrong thing to do. People should carry love in their heart instead of hatred."
Oshian wrote a moving tribute to her partner on Instagram shortly after his death, describing him as "the most kind hearted, loving, funny and caring person".
She said: "Takayo, my sweet beautiful boy, all I can ask is why, over and over again.
"I’m sat here with sore eyes and a heavy heart as I’ve cried consistently for the last 12 hours while carrying your unborn son.
"I will remind him daily about how great you were as a son, brother, boyfriend and friend too!
"The love I have for you will never stop and I will honour your name everyday."
In his written tribute, Chris said he had first met Takayo, also known as TK, two years ago when he came to his studio with
almost four years before leaving to focus on music.
Takayo was stabbed at around 8pm on August 29, under the Westway flyover at Ladbroke Grove.
He was given emergency first aid by police and then treated by paramedics but was pronounced dead later that night in hospital.
A murder investigation has been launched, although there have been no arrests.
The Metropolitan Police said a post-mortem examination held on September 1 found Takayo had died from a stab wound, which had cut the main artery in his leg.
his dad.
He said they had recorded "some great music together" and Takayo's "talent was endless".
Chris said: "Little TK will never have the opportunity to know his father, and Takayo will tragically never meet his little baby boy.
"TK was a good kid, a good guy and what has happened breaks my heart."
Chris said: "The effect of his murder will last a lifetime. His mother, father, siblings, family and friends are inconsolable."
Chris has launched an online donation page aiming to raise £20,000 to help Takayo's family raise his child.
As the Voice went to print the amount donated was nearing £10,000.
He said: "Fundraising is not ordinarily something we do in the black community, but I do this because TK’s talent was endless and I can tell you guys he was close to greatness!
"So whatever we raise will go to his family to help raise his child and help Oshian through what will be a very difficult process of raising a child on her own!
The page can be found online at gofund.me/e526541c.
Tributes to Takayo were made by his former football clubs Bristol Rovers and Yate Town.
Rovers said: "Bristol Rovers are deeply saddened to learn of the death of former academy player Takayo Nembhard.
"The club would like to pass
on its condolences to Takayo’s family and friends at this difficult time."
A collection held at a Yate Town home game in September raised more than £160 towards the fund for Takayo's family.
The club said Takayo had been a "prolific" striker in the 2018-19 season, scoring 29 goals in the Somerset Youth Floodlit U18 League, and went on to make two first team appearances.
A club statement said: "The club wishes to send its deepest condolences to Takayo's family and friends at this difficult time. Rest easy up there TK."
Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees said he and council staff were "thinking of Oshian and Takayo’s family and friends at this difficult, awful time".
He said Takayo had been a council plumbing apprentice for
Detective Chief Inspector Jim Shirley said: “I know that there were several hundred people in the immediate area surrounding the murder and while the carnival environment made the management of and access to the scene difficult, it also meant that there were likely to have been a number of witnesses.
“If you saw anything, no matter how insignificant it may seem, please do get in touch.”
Detectives would like to hear from anyone with information, pictures or video footage which could help their investigation.
They can be reached by calling the incident room directly on 020 7175 2206.
Information can also be given anonymously by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visiting www.crimestoppersuk.org.
Takayo Nembhard. Picture: Chris Patrick
BUS fares for single and return journeys are being cut - but day tickets are set to rise by more than 13%, and some saver tickets are being axed.
Operator First West of England has introduced the changes as a result of government funding secured by the West of England Combined Authority and North Somerset Council.
Adult single fares in the firm's Bristol Zone will be reduced to £2 - a 9% reduction on the current £2.20 fare - , and there will be a flat £1 fare for all child single journeys.
Return or '2-Trip' tickets will reduce by just over 18%, from £4.30 to £3.50 in the Bristol Zone, while West of England Zone single fares will be capped at £3.70down from a maximum of £6.50 for longer journeys. Return tickets in the regional zone will also be reduced, to a maximum of £5.
But the Bristol Zone adult day ticket - also known as the day rider - will increase from £5.30 to £6.
First says more than half of passengers who buy the day ticket only use it once or twice, so could save by switching to singles or returns.
Day tickets for travel outside Bristol will be reduced from £7.50 to £7.
But First is axing its £1.30 3-Stop Hop, popular for short journeys, and £3.50 night tickets.
The changes come in advance of a national £2 single fare cap the government is funding from next January.
First West of England managing director Doug Claringbold said: "The £2 single fare in Bristol offers outstanding value and, rather than waiting for the Government’s temporary £2 single fare cap to start in January, we are taking action now to help our existing customers and to encourage new customers to use Bristol services."
DON'T leave us isolated - that was the message from people in Stapleton who are losing their only bus services when timetables are changed this month.
Bus operator First is axing both services through the areathe 5, which also serves parts of Eastville and Oldbury Court, and the Y4 - from October 9.
It says driver shortages mean it is unable to run a reliable service unless it makes changes.
A new service, the 47, is being introduced to provide what First calls a "partial replacement for the majority of customers" who use the 5 and Y4.
But its route is along Fishponds Road between Eastville and Oldbury Court, leaving no buses running through Stapleton on Bell Hill and Park Road.
A petition calling on First and Metro Mayor Dan Norris, who has responsibility for transport planning, to reverse the cut had gained more than 1,600
signatures online and around 200 on paper as the Voice went to print.
Petition organiser and Oldbury Court resident Lori Streich teamed up with city councillor Marley Bennett, whose Eastville ward includes part of Stapleton, to host a public meeting at the Vassall Centre on September 22.
About 60 people were there - about half of them from Stapleton. Others came from Oldbury Court, Frenchay, St Werburgh's, Speedwell and Downend.
Among the audience were people who relied on the 5 and Y4 for work, shopping, medical and psychiatric appointments, and studying at UWE's Glenside Campus on Blackberry Hill.
Some people arrived late, after a number 5 from the city centre was cancelled, leaving them with a half-hour wait for the next one.
But the new 47 will only run hourly, with outbound services
stopping at 6.10pm and inbound at about 8.15pm.
It will have no Sunday service.
Re-routing it along Fishponds Road enables First to drop one of the three 48 buses it currently runs every hour - the remaining 48s will run 20 minutes before and after the 47 between Emersons Green and the centre.
One Stapleton resident who addressed the public meeting said: "We're going to be totally and utterly isolated."
Several residents with disabilities - who can no longer call on Bristol Community Transport's Dial A Ride service after it collapsed - said they now faced "uncertainty about how and when we can go out".
One said: "I'm registered blind, and my wife and I rely 100% on the 5 and Y4 for any form of freedom - we rely on it for the GP, for shopping, for everything - what are we to do?"
Several people told the meeting the cutbacks went against the city council's
campaign to persuade more people out of their cars, which will gain momentum when Clean Air Zone charges are introduced next month, with one person commenting: "When I read we're a 'green city', the only green I can see is my own vomit!"
Workers at Elm Tree Farm, the social enterprise which provides opportunities for people with learning disabilities and autism to work, said it would be "completely cut off" by the cuts, with the meeting told that
around half of its users relied on the threatened services to get there.
A representative from disability charity WECIL said it was considering a legal challenge, as an equality impact assessment, to assess the effect on disabled residents, may not have been carried out before making the decision.
A resident of the new estate on the site of Frenchay Hospital said: "I've had to give my employer one month's notice
that I can no longer get to work at Blackberry Hill Hospital, because I can't get there."
Cllr Bennett said it was "a shame" no representatives from First and WECA had come to the meeting, after being invited.
He went to a meeting of WECA the following day to call on the authority and First to restore a service to Stapleton.
Cllr Bennett told residents: "What I'm asking for is a guarantee that, as soon as drivers are available, the 5 is restored in full - and they give us a timetable for that."
After the meeting Mr Norris said he would "urgently" follow up Cllr Bennett's suggestion of re-routing the 47 service via Stapleton with First, adding: "I have also repeatedly asked transport officers to leave no stone unturned in the search for solutions, with talks ongoing with bus operators big and small.”
The petition can be found online at chng.it/FYpSs4qs.
Mon
Sat 9am
Sunday
Bank Holidays 10 am - 4pm
family run business for over 85 years, supplying and fitting quality flooring in the Bristol and surrounding areasThe meeting at the Vassall Centre was attended by people from across the area
BRISTOL has played its part in events across the nation to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the accession of King Charles III.
Lowered flags, floral tributes and books of condolence were the outward signs of mourning in the city following the Queen's passing on September 8.
Churches including All Saints, St Mary's and St John's held memorial services and prayers, and opened books of condolence for people to sign and write messages. At St john's, bells were rung for 10 minutes to celebrate King Charles III’s succession.
Civic leaders led tributes to the Queen.
The Lord-Lieutenant of Bristol, Peaches Golding OBE, said: "Elizabeth II was the longest reigning monarch in the history of England and dedicated her life to our country and the Commonwealth. "Throughout her reign, she had an ambitious schedule of royal tours and state visits around the world, and I had great admiration for her devotion to the role as she continued a full programme of engagements even into her later years.
"For virtually everyone in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, she is the only monarch we have known.”
Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees said said: "This year we celebrated the Platinum Jubilee,
A CHARITY cafe in Speedwell was among the places that opened their doors for the Queen's funeral to enable people to watch it together.
Barton Hill RFC Charity Cafe, in Duncombe Lane, opened from 10am until 5pm on September 18, the day of the state funeral.
Cafe volunteer Mandy Bryant said: "Several of the cafe regulars were going to watch it alone so the cafe decided to open to provide a place for people to come together and pay their respects."
The cafe provided all food and drink free after donations from local supermarkets.
Mandy added: "It was a thought provoking and emotional day for many but good for the community to be able to get together with others if they wanted to bid goodbye to our Queen."
Shirley Martin, who attended the event, said: "The whole day made me feel proud to be British and thankful for the Queen's service to our country."
Nicola Hawker added: "It was a send off that was truly deserved for the remarkable lady that we had the pleasure of calling our Queen."
Bob Turner said: "It has been the loss of a person who has always been there for all of us, no matter what else happens in life. It brought people together to grieve and it was good to be amongst friends to remember our Queen."
which saw Bristol come together to mark the Queen’s lifetime of unprecedented, dedicated service to our country."
Metro Mayor Dan Norris said: "She has been an exemplar who always put service first. It is almost unimaginable such a reliable fixture in our lives is no longer with us."
Flags at civic buildings flew at half-mast and City Hall was lit up in purple throughout the period of national mourning, and the council also set up an online book of condolence, which included 96 messages from members of the public as the Voice went to print.
The city council also cancelled all public meetings until after the Queen's funeral, as did the West of England Combined Authority, health and fire bodies, even though official protocol did not oblige them to do so.
On September 11 a proclamation ceremony was held outside City Hall on College Green, attended by the Lord-Lieutenant and Mayor, along with the Lord Mayor of Bristol, Paula O’Rourke, Bishop of Bristol Vivienne Faull and
High Sheriff Alex Raikes, MBE and representatives of the city's health, educational, political and legal institutions, along with the voluntary sector.
They ceremony and accompanying procession, made up of the Armed Forces, a police guard, civic representatives and a marching band, were watched by a crowd who joined in with a rendition of the National Anthem with its now unfamiliar refrain of "God Save The King".
Ms Raikes, who delivered the proclamation, said: "It was an honour to be given the duty of proclaiming His Majesty King Charles III as the new Monarch.
"The joyful reception of the people gathered is testament to the value placed in His Majesty.
"My thanks go to the members of the Armed Forces, the emergency services and the City of Bristol Pipes and Drums marching band in supporting the event.
"On a fine, and sunny day on College Green, we followed in the footsteps of generations past in marking the accession of the Monarch with dignity and respect."
Civic leaders and the ceremonial police guard outside City HallTHOUSANDS of people enjoyed the return of Fishponds' own free festival at its new home in Vassalls Park.
It may have been more than three years since the last one, and at a different time of year, but people made up for lost time, with organisers saying Party in the Ponds was a "big success".
They are now making plans for it to return to its traditional June date, with a longer programme, more bands and stalls, next year.
Gareth Edwards, from the event's organising committee, said around 5,000 people had attended during the course of the day, with around 1,500 on site at any time.
They heard live music on the main stage and saw dance shows on a separate stage, while also having the chance to buy food, drink and gifts from 60 different stalls.
Gareth said: "The stallholders said the response was phenomenal. Both bars sold out and so did the gin and Pimms stalls, and all except one of the food stalls sold out.
"Everybody we spoke to said they will come back next year."
Organisers have identified some areas for improvement ahead of next year's event: problems with parking in the Oldbury Court car park and on nearby streets caused some headaches, and they will be looking at different ways of accommodating traders' vehicles next year.
They will also look at how the two stages are placed to make sure music from the main stage doesn't drown out the second stage.
The increased cost of staging the event - from around £9,000 in 2019 to £15,000 this yearmeans next year's event will need more sponsors, stalls, grants and donations.
Gareth said: "We've used up what we had in the bank.
"A lot of people came and didn't spend a penny, which is fine, but if people want to keep it as a free event, please donate a small amount to ensure it can come again next year."
A date for next year's festival has already been set for Saturday June 17, at its traditional time a week before the Glastonbury Festival.
Gareth said: "It will be bigger and better again."
Anyone who would like to help organise next year's event, make a donation or enquire about being a stallholder should email partyintheponds@gmail.com.
Angel Up Front perform on the main stage. Picture: Isabella Gibbs
The dance stage. Picture: Gareth Edwards
Business was booming at the Jerk King food stall. Picture: Amanda Vinall
Crowds near the main stage. Picture: Gareth Edwards
0117 962 2474
0117 965 4434
www.turnersopticians.co.uk
IT’S definitely one of those times where we can really feel as if we’re watching history being written. So much has been covered about the process of transition from Queen to King, it was nice to have a little time out recently to process our emotions as we mourned & celebrated the life of probably the greatest Monarch to ever live.
There is no doubt still much to be learnt from such a wise & experienced person as our Queen Elizabeth was, who as Queen was renowned for keeping her thoughts to herself.
I, on the other hand, am clearly not encumbered by any high office or elevated position! Through writing this blog I am regularly able to share my thoughts on a couple of topics close to my heart. One is vision stress, particularly when it impacts the learning potential of children & young people.
For our eyes to work properly, we need them to work in harmony with our brains. Throughout childhood, we learn how to see. As newborns, our eyes work, but we haven’t yet developed most of the visual skills we need throughout our lives.
As babies, primitive reflexes kick in to help us develop the movement, posture, control and perception skills we use and rely on. Sometimes these don’t fully integrate, and when that happens, the person may display all the hallmarks of a vision issue.
It could be difficulty reading or writing, words moving or jumping on a page, visual perception issues or concentration problems. We often see these issues at Turners Opticians, especially now that the children have returned to school, with parents worried about their child not achieving their learning potential.
That’s why we offer Vision Therapy to our patients - of all ages!
What is Vision Therapy?
Vision Therapy is a non-invasive, drug-free programme of specific vision training exercises that have been shown to be effective.
The goal is to help patients achieve clear, comfortable vision, help the development of fundamental visual skills key to our reading and learning processes and improve how visual information is processed.
In short, Vision Therapy is like physio for the visual system, including the eyes and the parts of the brain that control vision.
So what does Vision Therapy look like in practice?
• STEP ONE is an initial vision assessment where your specialist optometrist will thoroughly assess your eye health, ensure you have optimal vision from any glasses you wear and will be able to tell you if you’re a good candidate for vision therapy or tinted lenses.
• STEP TWO is a detailed functional vision assessment with a Specialist (Behavioural) Optometrist. They will look into the finer aspects of your vision system, how it functions and assess your visual skill level.
• STEP THREE is to attend Vision Therapy sessions regularly and consistently where you or your child will be guided through a vision therapy programme. On average this can take between three and nine months.
If you have any questions that have not been covered here, please email: eyegym@ turnersopticians.co.uk
To book an appointment, please call our Henleaze team on 0117 962 2474 or Fishponds team on 0117 965 4434
Peter Turner is a Senior Optometrist at Turners Opticians in Bristol, with a specialist interest in visual development and visual performance.
CAMERAS could be installed to enforce a ban on left turns at a busy junction which is "frequently" ignored by drivers.
Left turns from Fishponds Road into Hockey's Lane, next to Morrisons, were banned in 2011 as part of work to install a bus lane.
Ever since then there have been repeated reports of near-misses, as drivers ignore the no left turn sign and drive through as pedestrians cross the junction.
There have been demands for action to tackle the problem for years, including a petition calling for legal left turns to be reinstated and a call for traffic in all directions to be stopped while the pedestrian crossing is at green.
Now, following a change in the law earlier this year, Bristol City Council is applying for the power to enforce traffic regulations at the junction and five other "problem areas" across the city.
Up until now the police have been responsible for law enforcement of moving traffic on local roads, but the change means the council can take on powers to issue fines for offences, which also include ignoring no entry signs and going down a one-way street in the wrong direction.
Hockey's Lane is at the boundary of the
council's Eastville and Frome Vale wards.
Frome Vale city councillor Amal Ali said she had been lobbying the council to prioritise action at the junction on behalf of local residents.
Cllr Ali said: "I’m very pleased the council is applying to install an enforcement camera on the Hockey’s Lane junction.
"Drivers frequently make illegal turns on
to Hockey’s Lane from Fishponds Road so they can access a shorter route to the local shops.
"These turns are banned for good reason – pedestrians crossing the road and cyclists going down Fishponds Road risk being hit by reckless drivers.
"Having a camera there will hopefully mean drivers think twice about carelessly ignoring rules, so this will make a dangerous crossing in my ward much safer.
"Fishponds residents have been worried about this junction for some time, and have contacted both myself and Kerry McCarthy, the local MP, about this so I’m glad the government has finally given councils the power to take enforcement measures."
Council cabinet member for transport Don Alexander said: "I am really pleased we are taking the step to apply for new powers to tackle traffic offences.
“Issuing penalty charge notices will help enforce the rules of the road, making our streets safer and less congested as a result."
A consultation on the plans is open until November 1.
To take part, visit www.bristol.gov.uk/ mteSept22 or call 0117 903 6449 if you are not online.
Minerva Primary Academy is a popular two form entry Primary School, with a fantastic modern building and unique playground. Our school vision is ‘Learning, Believing, Growing and Achieving’ and we are committed to providing our children with the best possible start to their education. We are proud to be rated a ‘Good School’.
Thursday 13th October 9:15am
Tuesday 18th October 9:15am
Thursday 3rd November 4.30pm
Tuesday 8th November 9:15am
Friday 18th November 9:45am
Tuesday 29th November 4.30pm
No
To arrange an alternative date or time, please: Call 0117 377 2990 or email info@mpa.clf.uk or visit the academy reception.
Minerva Primary Academy, The Greenway, Bristol BS16 4HA www.minervaprimaryacademy.clf.uk
Frome Vale councillor Amal Ali in Hockey's Lane
A FISHPONDS film-maker turned her anxieties from early motherhood into an action-packed short film - which has won three awards at a martial arts film festival.
Gabriela Staniszewska's 18-minute movie Choose Your Weapon was filmed at Whitehall Rugby Club and other locations in the Speedwell and Fishponds area during lockdown.
The movie is currently on the festival circuit, including its triumphant appearance at the Fighting Spirit Film Festival in September, and there are also plans to show it locally and stream it online.
Gabriela, whose family have been in Fishponds for 70 years, previously made a short horror film, called I Should Have Run, on the Bristol and Bath Railway Path.
Choose Your Weapon features an anxious new mother battling a hyperactive imagination on a trip to the shops with her newborn baby, and includes action scenes with everything from martial arts fighting to crossbows and bazookas.
Gabriela said: "Choose Your Weapon was born from my own experiences of post-natal anxiety and incredibly horrific intrusive thoughts, immediately after the birth of my daughter.
"I managed to overcome my fears through the use of lucid dreaming techniques - I grabbed an imaginary crossbow when my imagination ran away with itself, and it worked.
"When a close friend confessed she was experiencing the same thoughts, I thought the best way of explaining it would be to show her.
"I believe it will be extremely helpful to women all over the world who are suffering the same anxieties, as well as entertaining
A YOUTH theatre group which has helped more than 1,000 children and young people to express themselves creatively is celebrating its 20th anniversary.
Travelling Light Youth Theatre began in a temporary building on the site of City Academy in Redfield and is now based at Wellspring Settlement community centre in Barton Hill.
It offers seven to 19-year-old actors opportunities, including
and hilarious!"
Gabriela, who has previously worked in production of TV shows including Casualty and The White Princess, writes and directs her own work.
She said: "It's really practical to film locally as you know most people involvedand everyone is keen to help.
"One of the participants was my daughter's lovely childminder Bryony, who runs the Beehive across the road. My uncle's business Ridgeway Road Auto Engineering was involved as always and my daughter was able to come on a set visit with my husband.
"At first it was a practical decision, but having filmed locally a few times now I really enjoy doing it.
"Whitehall Rugby Club car park and the field was our main location, and they couldn't have been more accommodating. It's such a great venue that I planned my 40th birthday celebrations there - they are great!
"We filmed a lot around there too - if you know the area you'll spot some locations.
"Stars of the film included friends I have known since I was at playgroup or spent my adolescence with at Bristol Old Vic Youth Theatre, who are now proper grown-up
actors, like Kate Speak, Stu McLoughlin, Howard Coggins and Heather Williams. It feels like a family affair for sure."
Choose Your Weapon won Best Short Film, Best British Short Film and Audience Choice awards at the Fighting Spirit Film Festival, which was held at London's Stratford Picturehouse.
The film and another by a female director, Kelsey Bollig’s Kickstart My Heart, won seven of the 14 awards at the festival between them, in a traditionally male-dominated genre.
Gabriela said she hoped the wins would pave the way for more women in action filmmaking.
Festival founder Soo Cole said: “For me it’s especially welcome that this year at Fighting Spirit Film Festival two of the films that won multiple awards were also helmed by female directors.”
Choose Your Weapon has also won movie website IMDb's 2021 Script to Screen Award and Best Producer award at the Women X festival, adding to the ten awards won by I Should Have Run.
Gabriela next short film, Yummy Mummy, was shown at Bristol's Encounters film festival at the end of September.
own show - and it launched at The Fire Station then Tobacco Factory theatres. I remember it vividly because it felt like a huge deal to be able to put on our own work.
a dedicated group for young disabled people, and members have staged more than 100 performances all over Bristol, from the Tobacco Factory and Arnolfini to the SS Great Britain and the tunnels under Bristol Temple Meads train station.
Funded by Arts Council England, Bristol City Council, Children in Need and the Coutts Foundation, Travelling Light aims to provide affordable and
creative weekly sessions for all to take part in, welcoming everyone regardless of experience.
Among those who have learned their trade at the group is Travis Alabanza, who grew up in Hillfields and won the Edinburgh Fringe Total Theatre award in 2019.
Travis said: "Along with my friend Ruby, who is now working as a theatre director, we got to write, direct and cast our
"I am so grateful for my time at Travelling Light, and it was literally the only place we could afford for extracurricular activities. It's so important for our city to have accessible arts spaces for young people, and I'm grateful to Travelling Light for creating them."
Travelling Light runs weekly sessions at the Wellspring Settlement for seven to 10 year olds, 11-13s and 14-19s, and a group for young disabled people aged 7-15.
For more details, email Louise Betts at louise@ travellinglighttheatre.org.uk or call or text 07305 008789.
Scenes from Gabriela Staniszewska's film, Choose Your Weapon Picture: Dreammore Films Travis AlabanzaTHE education watchdog has told a nursery school it needs to improve.
Two inspectors from Ofsted visited Speedwell Nursery School over two days in June.
Their report, which has just been published, said that overall the nursery school 'requires improvement'.
The inspectors said improvements were needed in its quality of education, and leadership and management.
Children's personal development, behaviour and attitudes were judged to be good by the inspectors.
It was Ofsted's first full inspection at the nursery school, off Speedwell Road next to Meadow Vale Park, since May 2015, when it was given an outstanding rating, later confirmed at a short inspection in 2019.
The report said: "Changes to leadership arrangements and to the organisation of the school have interrupted the planned improvements to the school.
"Leaders recognise the shortfalls that exist. They know that more needs to be done to make sure that the quality of education is as good as it should be."
The inspectors still found many things to
praise at the nursery school, which has 107 children aged from two to four on its roll.
The report said: "Leaders and staff ensure that children are safe, cared for and that they love coming to school.
"This is a happy, busy place, full of surprises for young children. The outside space has plenty to explore and enjoy."
The inspectors said staff "encourage and inspire children to play" and helped them learn how to play together, listening to them and resolving any disputes quickly.
The report said: "Parents recognise the strong care provided for children. They are overwhelmingly positive about the school."
The encouragement of reading and listening to stories, poems, songs and rhymes, to build "knowledge and enjoyment of language", was highlighted, and the school's "strong culture of safeguarding" was also praised.
However the inspectors said the nursery school's development plan was not clear, which "makes it difficult for everyone involved to know what the current priorities are".
They said leaders had to ensure that there was more clarity about what children were
expected to learn, as too much was currently "left to chance".
Responding to the report, the nursery school's leaders and governors said: "Leaders and staff ensure that children are safe, cared for and enjoy an environment that encourages and inspires children to play and learn.
"All at Speedwell Nursery School are committed to delivering the safest and most nurturing environment possible.
"We have taken on board Ofsted’s feedback and continued to embed the improvements needed to ensure we are always improving and meeting the needs of families and staff."
They said the nursery school was in the process of implementing updated national guidance for early years education, adding: "The Ofsted report noted that although leaders had an accurate understanding of the areas of improvement needed, at the time of the inspection, in June, this was yet to be fully embedded.
"We have continued with our ambitious plans to ensure that every Speedwell Nursery School child is in receipt of the highest quality of Early Years provision."
A FISHPONDS man has been jailed and an Eastville man given a suspended sentence after they admitted being couriers for a dealer selling cocaine and heroin.
Kemar Watson, of Selbrooke Crescent, Oldbury Court and Kavel Hines-Hastings, of Cottrell Road, Eastville were couriers for dealer Shomari Kondwani, delivering drugs on his behalf.
Avon and Somerset police said Kondwani, aged 32, of Linnell Close, Lockleaze, controlled a mobile phone which drug users would contact to order the Class A drugs.
Watson and Hines-Hastings, both aged 20, would take the drugs to users in South Bristol.
All three men appeared at Bristol Crown Court in September after admitting two counts of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs.
Watson and Hines-Hastings also each admitted two charges of possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply during an earlier hearing.
Police said the three defendants were caught after officers found wraps of cocaine and heroin on a man they stopped in Bedminster in July.
An investigation established the drugs had been ordered and bought via a phone registered to Kondwani.
Officers found the phone when they stopped him in his car a few days later, and established that it had been used to orchestrate the whole operation.
On the same day, police
raided a property on Hollidge Gardens in Southville, which they had discovered was linked to the "drug line", and found Watson and Hines-Hastings inside, along with drugs worth nearly £2,000 on the street.
Kondwani was jailed for four years and eight months and was made subject to a six-year criminal behaviour order (CBO).
Watson was jailed for two and a half years, and given a fouryear CBO, while Hines-Hastings was given a 20-month suspended
sentence, a two-year CBO and told to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.
Afterwards South Bristol Inspector Chris Green said: “Those who sell illegal drugs are the scourge of society.
"They cause significant harm to communities not only by facilitating the habits of vulnerable people but by increasing anti-social behaviour and acquisitive crime as they look to fund their addictions.
"Tackling the supply of drugs and dismantling the organised criminal networks responsible is a priority for us and we’d encourage anyone who has concerns about such activity in their community to contact us."
Police are calling on anyone who has information about drug dealing to contact their local neighbourhood team or call 101.
Information can also be given anonymously to Crimestoppers by calling 0800 555 111 or via their website.
Kemar Watson was jailed Kavel Hines-Hastings was given a suspended sentence
Memory Lane is a new Dementia Service based at Caring Comes First in Kingswood. Our aim is to improve and maintain the wellbeing of those living with Dementia, through person centred activities and social opportunities.
Our goal is to offer enrichment to the lives of people living with Dementia, which has a positive effect and therefore increasing their wellbeing by engaging in stimulation and activity outside their normal routine.
We offer a fully engaging, interactive experience for all our clients, with activities including;
Music
Sessions
- 12.30pm
- 4.30pm
&
Arranging
We are now taking referrals for private and funded clients, to find out more about our services please call
MORE than 1,000 people visited Bristol's community farms, orchards and other foodproducing projects in this year's Get Growing Garden Trail.
The event on the weekend of September 17-18 gave people the chance to visit fruit and vegetable farms and gardens around the city, including several in the Eastville, Fishponds and Stapleton area.
The local projects taking part were included three in Stapleton: Bridge Farm, in Glenfrome Road; Elm Tree Farm, in Park Road,a care farm for adults with learning disabilities and autism run by the Brandon Trust and the Avon Wildlife Trust Grow Wilder project, in Frenchay Park Road.
Projects based at allotments were also involved.
Royate Hill Community Orchard and Allotment Project held an apple pressing workshop, with visitors able to take away some juice after helping to make it, as well as an open day.
Street Goat, also based at Royate Hill Allotments, held open days, as did Edible Bristol Cultivation Place, at Speedwell Allotments.
People were also invited to take part in a volunteer session at Hillfields Community Garden, in Hillfields Park.
This year is the tenth that the trail has taken place and it returned in full after two scaledback events during the pandemic.
Coordinator Ramona Andrews said: "We had a fantastic weekend for this year’s Get Growing Trail.
"Thankfully the sun shone on all the growing groups, bringing out at least 1,000 visitors to explore the city’s community growing spaces, many of them not usually open to the public.
"People participated in apple pressing, wild food walks, farm tours, city farm tasting talks, origami seed packet making, bee talks, seed saving, sign making and pyrography workshops (burning a design onto wood).
"There was even a community sing-song and a ‘guess the weight of the pumpkin’ competition.
"In all, 29 sites participated this year, with lots of them run by volunteers who help make this event something really special for the city - and a rallying call to ‘Get Growing’."
Cake sale at Elm Tree Farm. Picture: Janet Gibson Planting at Royate Hill. Picture: Jo Pengilley Edible Bristol. Picture: Janet Gibson Seasonal veg at Elm Tree Farm. Picture: Janet Gibson A young visitor gets to grips with a cabbage at Grow Wilder. Picture: Janet Gibson
TWO brothers walked 125 miles to raise money for charities that helped their step-mother before she lost her life to motor neurone disease.
Pete Britton, from Fishponds, and Mark Britton, from Downend, and their friend Steve Ladd, from Fishponds walked from Bristol to Paignton in Devon in memory of Carolyn Britton, who died from the disease last year.
Carolyn, who was 57, had only been diagnosed with motor neurone disease three months before she died at St Peter's Hospice last November.
After learning how much it cost to run the hospice and how much it relied on fundraising, Pete and Mark decided to raise money for the hospice and for the Motor Neurone Disease Association, which provides support to people diagnosed with the disease, funds research and campaigns to improve care and treatment.
Motor neurone disease is a debilitating condition which leads to muscle weakening and wasting, affecting mobility, talking, eating, drinking and breathing.
It shortens lives and there is currently no cure.
Pete, Mark and Steve decided to walk to Paignton as it was where their dad and Carolyn, who lived in Bradley Stoke, bought a holiday lodge which they planned to enjoy in their retirement.
Pete's wife Hayley said: "Sadly it was not to be.
"Carolyn spent her last weeks at St Peter's Hospice in Brentry, and the care and support she and my father-in-law received was totally exceptional.
"Pete, Mark and Steve wanted to give something back. Walking isn't something they have always done, and they don't go to the gym, so it was out of their comfort zone."
The trio started doing long walks to get into practice for the event.
After walking for four days from the end of August to early September, they were met by their families in Paignton, and also picked up support and donations on the way.
Pete said: "The walk was physically and emotionally challengingwe walked 273,812 steps!
"Thank you so much for everyone's donations, and messages of support - this really helped us along the way."
An online fundraising page is still open for donations and can be found at justgiving.com/crowdfunding/walking4carolyn.
After setting an initial target of £1,500, it had passed £3,000 by mid-September.
A FORMER GP from Downend who has lived with motor neurone disease for 13 years is organising a fundraising event to help support others with the illness.
Peter Moore worked at Kingswood Health Centre for 30 years but had to retire after being diagnosed with MND.
Dr Moore is holding the event in memory of his friend Martin Brown, also from Downend, who died of MND three years ago.
Taking place from 7pm on November 12 at Christ Church, the evening will include refreshments and live music covering popular songs from recent decades.
All funds raised will be donated to the Motor Neurone Disease Association.
Dr Moore said: "MND is a horrible disease. Unfortunately, Martin’s disease progress was rapid.
"Although I can’t speak, swallow or breathe without ventilation and am completely paralysed, I still enjoy life.
"I look forward to November 12 hoping to raise awareness of MND as well as raising funds for the MNDA.
"We are aiming for an informal atmosphere where friends can catch up."
More details of the event, including ticket arrangements, will be confirmed nearer the time.
Unrushed, relationship focused care
1 hour visits
Matched to clients in your own area
Competitive payup to £14 per hour
Variety of work patterns available
First class training & career development 12% Holiday pay & a pension scheme
0063
Take a fresh look at caring with Home InsteadCarolyn Britton Pete and Mark Britton and Steve Ladd at the end of their walk Dr Peter Moore
Nowadays we all have so much admin to sort out at home – it is easy for things to get out of date. Local experts - Simpson Solicitors - offer our readers a FREE (no obligation) review meeting to take stock.
We are so lucky to have Bristol Children’s Hospital covering our area. It provides an unrivalled level of service when our youngsters are most in need. The Grand Appeal charity covers the many extras that the NHS cannot – making life a bit more bearable for sick children and their families.
The Free Review is centred on making sure your legal affairs are in order - so that those you care about are protected if you were to die unexpectedly. This includes: -
✓ A legal validity check of any existing Will or Powers of Attorney, that they are signed in accordance with the complex rules that apply.
✓ HM Land Registry home and property search to check they are owned in the way you think and that this will not cause problems.
✓ Recording what you own
(property, bank accounts, investments, on-line accounts, life insurance) and how it can be accessed if you weren’t here.
This September our local Will experts – Simpson Solicitors – have again teamed up with The Grand Appeal.
✓ Offering to arrange independent financial advice where that might help protect your savings.
The scheme means you can make a donation to support the Children’s Hospital in your Will. With nothing to pay now, even giving a small percentage of what you leave behind could make a tremendous di erence to help future generations of local sick children.
✓ Advice on how to protect those you leave behind – as family relations may have changed over the years, altering who you want to benefit. Adding provision for new additions such as children grandchildren or step-children. With advice on Guardians for children under 18.
✓ Decide who you trust to be able to help you make decisions or pay bills or sign for you if an accident or illness meant you could not do this yourself. Advising on modern Powers of Attorney.
✓ Free secure storage service offered for your legal documents and the information you might want your family to be able to access.
Simpsons will take 30% o the usual full cost.
To thank you, under the scheme, Simpson Solicitors will prepare a Will (or two mirror Wills for a couple) absolutely free to you. You will still receive their full awardwinning service. They hope that you will then leave a generous legacy in your Will for the Grand Appeal. As a further thank you, if you also need Additional Trust Protection or Powers of Attorney,
✓ Tax and care home fee rules review – covering recent changes – with advice so your family don’t receive an avoidable tax or care home bill.
To arrange your free review either email message@simpsonslawuk. com or call 0117 9608594.
Michelle Baden-Daintree who runs Simpsons’ local o ce says: “I hope many people will take advantage of the scheme and leave a generous gift in their Will to the Grand Appeal. Call our friendly team on 0117 960 8594 if you would like to make or update your Will under this scheme. By leaving a donation in your Will, you can gift a sick child a brighter future.”
Simpson Solicitors’ award winning team will help you do the job properly.
Protecting those you most care about with Wills and Powers of Attorney.
At the FREE review meeting we’ll take as long as you need to consider what is best for your particular situation. Then we offer clear fixed prices with no hidden costs.
On your own Your Will is how you decide who will inherit from you. Living Together Avoid disputes and provide for your partner in the way you want.
Parent Wills In case the worst happened, provide for children under 18 and decide who you would want to raise them.
Later Life Wills Protect your family’s inheritance from Care Home fees and Tax
Lasting Powers of Attorney Ensure your wishes are followed by appointing those you trust, in case of serious injury or illness.
Kings Chase Shopping Centre, Kingswood
0117 960 8594
message@simpsonslawuk.com
Kings Chase Shopping Centre, Kingswood 0117 960 8594 message@simpsonslawuk.com
“We were made to feel very welcome and cared for” H.L.
“You have lifted a great weight off our shoulders” C.R.
Wills Powers of Attorney Probate
message@simpsonslawuk.com OR Michelle at
Chase Shopping Centre offices in Kingswood (opposite Costa). If getting to us is
Bitton, Downend, Fishponds, Hanham, Kingswood, Oldland, St George, Staple Hill, Warmley, Willsbridge and surrounding areas.
To advertise, contact Shaun Tel 07540 383 870
Email: sales@fishpondsvoice.co.uk
Got News? Call Ken On 07715 770377
Got News? Contact us via email: news@kingswoodvoice.co.uk
Melissa Witter Sigrid Grind Michelle Baden-Daintree Melissa Witter Sigrid GrindA FISHPONDS charity is lighting up City Hall this month to raise awareness of a disability affecting hundreds of people in Bristol.
Cerebral Palsy Plus, which is based in the Vassall Centre in Oldbury Court, is taking part in World Cerebral Palsy Day to highlight the work it does with more than 375 people living with the lifelong condition in the Bristol area.
Cerebral palsy causes physical disabilities affecting people's movement and coordination.
Since 1960 the charity has been supporting children and adults with the condition to live as independently as they wish, providing a range of support services and activities.
On October 6 it is taking part in the worldwide day of action to raise awareness, embrace diversity and campaign to increase support for the 17 million people living with cerebral palsy around the world, which is being marked in 75 countries.
To mark the occasion, Bristol’s City Hall will be bathed in green light in a coordinated campaign which will see other landmarks across the UK, including Blackpool Tower, lit up.
Cerebral Palsy Plus spokesperson Cathy
Truman said: "We are delighted to have the support of the Mayor to help us raise awareness for people with cerebral palsy in Bristol this World Cerebral Palsy Day.
"Our charity currently supports over 375 people with cerebral palsy and their families, but we know there are more people in the community who could benefit from our services.
"We hope that World Cerebral Palsy Day will help us to reach and connect with more people in Bristol who could benefit from our services."
The event follows a series of successful events for the charity, including its annual accessible sailing day in August, working with local activity provider All Aboard Watersports to enable more than 70 people with the condition to enjoy a day of water-based activities in Bristol Harbour.
Cathy said: "People with disabilities like cerebral palsy are often excluded from activities like sailing, so the day meant a lot those who took part."
The event helped people with the condition to build confidence, with one parent saying the opportunity for her son to use his upper body strength to sail made him "equal to his peers".
Cerebral Palsy Plus relies on voluntary donations to fund its services. To donate, visit www.cerebralpalsyplus.org.uk/support-us/ donate.
For more information about Cerebral Palsy Plus and the support they provide to people in Bristol and surrounding areas, call Cathy Truman on 0117 965 5028 or visit www.cerebralpalsyplus.org.uk.
Cerebral Palsy Plus held an accessible sailing day in Bristol Harbour this summerA CAFE where people can find out how to 'make do and mend' has reopened at a Fishponds church.
The Fishponds Repair Café aims to encourage people to try and mend household items, clothes and other worn or broken possessions instead of throwing them away, learning new skills along the way with the volunteer team.
After a break caused by lockdown and a change of volunteers, the Repair Café is back up and running, on the first Saturday of the month form 10am-midday, at All Saints Church in Grove Road.
From soldering to "visible mending" of clothes, the cafe team aims to mend what people bring in or advise the what they need to do to fix it.
Items covered include tools, bikes, clothing, soft furnishings and toys.
Visitors can also pick up a tea, coffee and a book from the stalls at the All Saints coffee morning, which runs alongside the repair cafe.
Café coordinator Kate Brooks
"They will try their best to mend what you bring, or advise what you need to do."
The repair café team recently shared their skills with other people and groups interested in recycling and sustainability at the Children’s Scrapstore Reuse Fair, in St Werburgh's.
Kate said: "It’s not just a fashion buzzword these days, we’ve all got to think about saving money and learning these skills is a great way to do it –especially if you have children, there are ways of extending the life of their clothes."
said: "We get a wide range of people coming to the café, from people who are trying to save money by altering school uniforms, or just getting pans mended, and things like that, and people who are interested in sustainable fashion.
"We’re hoping to run a visible
mending workshop soon, where you show how you love those old jeans or that old jumper by transforming them, adding colour and pattern with darning wool, scraps and thread.
"The team are also planning a 'toy hospital' session before Christmas.
The next repair café sessions are due to take place on October 2 and November 6.
For more details contact Kate on 07946 845778 or visit the Fishponds Repair Café page on Facebook.
We’d love to meet you at one of our upcoming open events!
Visit maypark.bristol.sch.uk/welcome/open-events
Follow us on Twitter @MayParkPri
Year 2 Pupil, May Park Primary School Volunteers get to work at the Fishponds Repair CaféSTREETS outside a Hillfields school are being cleared of traffic every day at pick-up and drop-off times.
The School Street scheme for Minerva Primary Academy has also seen a full-time one-way system introduced on The Greenway from Hillfields Avenue to Summerleaze, and on the section of Cherrytree Crescent from The Greenway to Cherrytree Road.
Introduced for the new school term in September, the streets are being closed to "non-essential vehicles" from 8.15-9am and 2.45-3.30pm on Monday to Friday during term time, with a staffed barrier placed at the Greenway/Hillfields Avenue junction at the start and end of the school day, and police enforcement.
The School Streets scheme aims to "make journeys to school safer and healthier" and has also been introduced on a permanent basis outside Whitehall Primary School this term.
A scheme outside Chester Park Junior School, which involves closing a section of Abingdon Road, from Acton Road to Moorlands Road, at drop-off and pick-up times, and introducing a one-way system, was introduced in June on an "experimental" basis for up to 18 months.
The streets are classed as walking, cycling, and wheeling zones while the scheme operates, to encourage families to leave the car at home or at least for the last part of the journey.
To celebrate the new scheme, Minerva
Primary Academy children played games including hula hooping, hopscotch and skipping on the traffic-free roads outside the school on September 9, in an event organised with non-profit group Playing Out.
School principal Jenny Harvey said: "As a school community we are delighted to be part of the Bristol School Street initiative.
"Many parents have commented on how calm and peaceful their mornings now are. Even those who have used the 'park and stride' have enjoyed walking the short distance to the school gates.
"It has been a joy to see children safely walking, scooting and cycling with their family and friends. We hope that this initiative encourages a healthy habit for life."
Cabinet councillor for transport Don Alexander said: "School Streets have many benefits for local communities, including reducing traffic outside school gates, improving road safety for pupils, reducing air pollution, and boosting the number of children travelling actively to school.
"We hope this will help encourage our next generation to cycle and walk more, as we need to embrace travelling more sustainably if we are going to become carbon neutral by 2030."
Children and staff played outside Minerva Primary Academy to celebrate the launch of the School Streets scheme.
PLANS to turn a three-bedroom family home in Fishponds into six bedsits have been approved by the city council.
The scheme to convert a house in Pound Drive into a house in multiple occupation drew objections from 17 neighbours, who said there were already too many HMOs in the street.
Residents also raised concerns over pressure on parking, bin storage and disturbance from students in the area.
They also said work had
started on the scheme last November - three months before the planning application was made - and said people had already moved in to the house, which was advertised for a monthly rental of £3,600, before the council made its decision.
Frome Vale ward councillor Amal Ali also objected to the application due to the premature start of work, lack of parking provision and HMO
concentration.
However a council development control committee delegated the decision to officers, who then approved the scheme.
A report on the application by the council's planning department said: "Based on the information submitted to the Local Planning Authority, it is considered that the principle of development is acceptable and would not give rise to any unacceptable concentrations of HMOs in the immediate locality.
"The proposed design is in keeping with other residential properties in the immediate area and is therefore acceptable. There would be no unacceptable highway or residential amenity impacts and is therefore acceptable."
Ofsted 2021
REGULATOR the Care Quality Commission has visited a care home after "safeguarding concerns" were raised.
The CQC visited Begbrook House Care Home, in Sterncourt Road, Frenchay, in May.
The home, which provides personal and nursing care for up to 32 people, had 23 residents at the time of the inspection.
The CQC issued a report, which did not provide an overall rating of the home but said: "The inspection was prompted due to safeguarding concerns which had been reported to us by the service and the local authority safeguarding team.
"This was in relation to safeguarding people from abuse and the process which staff followed to report such concerns.
"At the time of this inspection the concerns were being investigated by the service and other agencies involved.
"We inspected to examine those areas of risk and to check that people were safe."
The CQC said there were enough staff and effective quality assurance systems at the home, and residents felt safe and positive about the management of the home.
The Voice has asked operator Barchester Hellens for a comment on the report and the concerns that led to the CQC visit.
“Pupils say they are happy here and love learning, because adults ‘make it fun’.”
WHEN a Downend primary school decided to update its uniform to include a new PE kit, it did not want to leave parents too much out of pocket.
So St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Primary School bought enough of the new bright yellow T-shirts to ensure there was a free one for every child.
School leaders decided to update the PE kit from the previous plain white T-shirt, and also introduced a branded hooded sweatshirt, in response to demand from parents.
Head teacher Mark Hilliam said: "The old uniform wasn’t exciting.
"We wanted to celebrate our PE curriculum with these vibrant new T-shirts and comfortable hoodies.
"Parents have been asking for a hooded sweatshirt, so it was a pleasure to provide one, along with a free T-shirt for every child.
"We think they all look great!”
Year 5 pupils from St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Primary School with their new kit
NEW rules to stop waste from commercial bins blighting city streets show no sign of being extended to a trouble spot in Eastville.
Bristol City Council announced a new policy to crack down on mess associated with commercial bins in September last year.
The policy aimed to make sure trade waste bins are kept in business premises and not on the street, ensure waste cannot spill out of containers, and coordinate collection times for all businesses.
The authority said firms which "repeatedly fail to comply" would face enforcement action, including removal of bins, onthe-spot fines of up to £110 and prosecution.
A pilot scheme was launched in the area around Corn Street, and the council said the policy would be rolled out to Eastville within 12 months.
The move was welcomed by residents living near the row of bins in Fishponds Road, between the Freeland Buildings and East Park junctions, which are used
mattresses and a bed frame up against the listed wall, plus other rubbish dumped there.
"I originally complained about the state of this area in 2017, and many times since, because nothing has improved since then.
"How much longer will it be before the council carry out their plans to make this a cleaner neighbourhood?
"Not only have the council done nothing, they have no intention of doing anything."
Eastville location "one of the first priorities".
Cllr Bennett said: "Unfortunately it means it may be some time yet until this scheme does come to Fishponds Road, and even then, when we discussed possibilities we couldn’t find an obvious solution.
by shops and takeaways across the road.
But Gloria Davey, of the East Park Residents Group, who has been lobbying the council to take action for the past five years, said: "There has been no reduction in the amount waste, or the amount of commercial bins stored here.
"Recently there were two
Gloria has been in touch with Eastville ward councillor Marley Bennett, who met Bristol Waste officers on the affected stretch of Fishponds Road to discuss the problems.
He said the trial in the city centre was still underway but officers told him once "lessons have been learned" the scheme would be rolled out, with the
"We did identify issues including the waste bins not being properly secured and overflowing, which in turn attracted further fly-tipping, and I’ve received assurances that Bristol Waste officers are following this up with the traders."
The Voice asked the council when the scheme was likely to be extended to Eastville, and whether action would be taken to address current problems there, but the authority was unable to provide a response in the week before we went to print.
Working in partnership with We Care Home Improvements and Lendology CIC, the partnership takes the stress out of funding and finding contractors for home repairs, improvements or adaptations.
If you are a homeowner, of any age, and need to make essential repairs to your home, call us today for more information. Works covered under the scheme include roof repair, electrical and plumbing work, damp and structural remedies, heating installations or replacement, amongst other works.
For an informal chat about the loan scheme and eligibility, call Lendology on 01823 461099, email loans@lendology.org.uk or visit www.lendology.org.uk
For more information on the services provided by We Care Home Improvements, call 0300 323 0700 or visit www.wecr.org.uk
*Subject to eligibility. **A maximum reduction of £1,000 from an approved loan over £2,000. For loans £2,000 or less, the reduction will be 50% of the loan value.
Budget is limited and will be awarded on a first come, first served basis. Typical Example (4% fixed interest rate, Typical 4.2% APR). Borrow £5,000 over 60 months. £92.08 monthly repayments. Total amount repayable = £5,544.96, including £20 fee for registering the Title Restriction. Missing payments could affect your credit rating and ability to obtain credit in the future. Loans are subject to status and are typically protected by a Title Restriction. This means that you may not be able to sell your home without our permission unless the loan is fully repaid. This is a financial promotion approved by Lendology CIC.
Lendology CIC is a trading name of Wessex Resolutions C.I.C.: a community interest company limited by guarantee, registered in England, company number 4512225. Registered address: Heatherton Park Studios, Bradford on Tone, Taunton TA4 1EU. Wessex Resolutions C.I.C is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (675263) for credit regulated activities.
Up to £1,000 OFF the cost of works to your home**Rubbish dumped next to an overflowing bin on Fishponds Road in August. Picture: Gloria Davey
SOME Avon Fire & Rescue Service staff are having to use food banks to get by, the chief fire officer has said.
Simon Shilton spoke out as firefighters and control staff prepare for a ballot for strike action, after receiving an annual pay offer of 2%, which has not been increased despite inflation reaching around 10% and the coming hike in energy bills.
The CFO said he was "seriously worried" about the welfare of staff and the measures they are resorting to as they face "significant hardships" due to the increased cost of living.
He spoke as a Bristol NHS trust also warned staff could strike over below-inflation pay offers, with the Royal College of Nursing union currently holding a ballot.
Mr Shilton said: "All our staff deserve a properly-funded pay rise, in line with the increasing cost of living and in line with those offered to other public sector services.
"Unfortunately, the pay afforded to fire and rescue service staff has not reflected the roles within the service for some time.
"The number of applications we receive for roles within the Fire Service is declining. Many applicants for firefighter roles are applying in the knowledge they will need to take a drop in salary from their current employment.
"This has led to difficulties in us recruiting and retaining staff and, more recently, has despairingly led to some staff having to access food banks to get by – this cannot be right.
"Following on from the recent period of hot weather and going into the winter, the imminent threat of industrial action with unresolved pay negotiations would stretch our organisation beyond its capabilities.
"I know for many, taking part in industrial action it is not a decision they will be taking lightly.
“When I speak to staff, they will tell me that they do it for the love of the job, because they care about the future of their local communities and ultimately, they want to keep people safe from harm.
“But as we’re already seeing, this doesn’t pay the bills or put food on the table and staff should be able to do this job, support their families and their communities."
The chief executive of University Hospitals Bristol & Weston NHS Trust, which runs the Bristol Royal Infirmary and other city centre hospitals, said there was a "real risk" of strike action as unions held ballots over a “miserable” 4% offer they say would leave staff £1,000 a year worse off in real terms.
Eugine Yafele told a meeting of the trust board in August that the increases were not fully funded by NHS England and any shortfall would have to be "drawn from existing budgets", but the "greatest risk" to services was if the pay offer was rejected and strike action followed.
SEPTEMBER 2022 will forever be etched in our memory as one of seismic change in our country. Whilst some of us may remember the death of a monarch, none of us has ever seen a change in prime minister in the same week as a change in sovereign.
It has been a time of loss and transition, and yet a time to celebrate the life of Queen Elizabeth II and her leadership over the last 70 years.
The Archbishop of Canterbury delivered a moving sermon at the funeral of the Queen, in front of representatives from all over the world.
He remarked: "People of loving service are rare in any walk of life. Leaders of loving service are still rarer. But in all cases, those who serve will be loved and remembered when those who cling to power and privileges are forgotten."
The Queen embodied a life
of service to this country, vowing to give her life to providing leadership to this nation and the Commonwealth.
The outpouring of grief we have seen over the last few weeks has shown just how important the Queen was to this nation.
I have heard many enquire: "What is the point of the monarchy anyway?"
The Queen stayed impartial in party politics and tight-lipped on her individual views, even though she was likely better informed than most of us.
Yet the Queen showed us what leadership and service can look like when they are fused with duty.
When she could have spent her life pursuing personal interests and material gain, or airing her views on things, she used her position to provide consistency and encouragement, to give voice to those without a
voice, and to show what a lifetime of dedication and courage can achieve.
The Queen has been quite clear as to where her inspiration for this kind of service has come from: her faith.
Her inspiration was Jesus, the servant King.
Jesus's model of leadership was not to be served but to serve. His life was characterised not by a desire to grasp power, but by a life that was lived for a greater purpose: to lovingly serve.
The supreme example that we see of this was Jesus's death on the cross; our late Queen and Christians all over the world unite in their belief that His humble death was the act of sacrifice that brought us freedom in this world and hope in the future.
In following Jesus's example, the Queen has left a legacy for us all to walk in.
Jesus said: "But among you it
will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant."
Leadership isn’t about taking power, it is about using what we have to make a difference by placing others' needs before our own.
In doing that, we show what loving service is and see the impact that it will have on our world.
With Gareth and Marianne Matthews, Life Church Bristol
MEN in the most deprived areas of Bristol die ten years younger than those in the richest parts of the city, a new report has revealed.
Annual data has exposed huge variations between the health and fortunes of residents depending on where they live, including vastly different rates of domestic abuse, child development and illness.
It also shows that more than 10,000 Bristolians needed hospital treatment for Covid-19.
The report to the city council's health and well-being board, which oversees provision for the health needs of the local population, says overall life expectancy for men in the city is 78.5 years, just below the England average and “significantly- lower” than the 82.7 years for women.
It said the ward with the lowest male life expectancy was Lawrence Hill, where it was 73.7 years, and that men's life expectancy was "unexpectedly low" compared to women's in the inner city - something that needed further investigation.
The report said: "The gap in life expectancy between most and least deprived groups in Bristol for males is 9.9 years, and
shows no clear sign of reducing."
The report said on average, men in Bristol lived just over half a year longer than they did a decade ago and women roughly two months longer, but that the latest figures had fallen slightly for both sexes.
It said: “There are large differences in life expectancy between the wards of Bristol.
“The highest life expectancy occurs in Cotham, for females 88.1 years and for males 84.1 years.”
The lowest life expectancy for women was in Southville, at 78.1 years."
According to the Office for National
Statistics, life expectancy for council wards in the Fishponds area is: 77.4 years for men and 84 years for women in Hillfields; 78.3 years for men and 81.7 years for women in Frome Vale; 77.4 years for men and 84.6 years for women in Eastville.
The report said more than half the adult Bristol population (57.3%)was overweight or obese, although this was lower than the national average of (62.8%) and the lowest of all major cities.
Hillfields was identified in the report as one of six council wards where poverty and deprivation were associated with a higher risk of excess weight.
The report also found that the city had a "significantly" above average rate of hospital admissions for injuries, self-harm and mental health conditions among children and young adults up to 24 years old.
Councillors were also told there had been nearly 162,000 reported cases of Covid-19 in the city from March 2020 to the end of March this year, of which 10,866 residents had been in hospital.
By Adam Postans, Local Democracy Reporting ServiceAre you a passionate, empathetic, hardworking person, who likes to make a difference in children’s lives, if so, we have exciting opportunities to work at our rapidly expanding Special School in a variety of roles.
Briarwood is a Bristol Special School, based in Fishponds and Barton Hill, committed to providing a high quality of education, care and life skills for children and young people with severe learning difficulties and complex needs including autism and sensory impairment from 3-19 years.
Please visit our careers page on www.eteach.com/schools/briarwood-school-25106 or contact us via emal on HR.briarwoodsp@bristol-schools.uk
Are you looking for a way to get involved with your local community? Have you considered being a School Governor? If you are interested please contact Deborah Smith for more information chairbriarwoodsp@bristol-schools.uk
Briarwood School, Briar Way, Fishponds, Bristol BS16 4EA www.briarwood.bristol.sch.uk
Email: sales@fishpondsvoice.co.uk
News? Call Ken On
770377
AN extra 204 places for pupils with special educational needs in Bristol will be created with an investment of £15 million.
Bristol City Council will use new funding from the Department for Education to expand special needs schools across the city, with the places created in two years.
The money will be spent on constructing new school buildings and refurbishing current ones.
Demand for special needs places in Bristol is rapidly rising, and the city has faced several problems with its special educational needs and disability (SEND) provision.
Mayor Marvin Rees said: "We all want children to have the best opportunities in life, no matter their background.
"That’s why we’re supporting the opening of new schools and expanding existing ones, to make sure we meet the growing demand for school places.”
The investment forms the second phase of a major upgrade of SEND provision in Bristol.
The first phase is creating 142 specialist places, by February next year, including a new £8.5m building for the Elmfield School for Deaf Children, which is due to open by Easter.
The announcement came as inspectors from Ofsted were due to return to the city in the first week of October, to check on the progress made in improving special needs education, three years after finding "significant areas of weaknesses" in provision.
The revisit comes at an awkward time for the council, which is mired in a scandal after staff were found to be monitoring the social media of some parents who criticised SEND provision.
A recent fact-finding report cleared the council of
Do you need FREE provisions and supplies to get you to the end of the month?
If so, please drop by at the Bristol Dance Company on any Sunday, 12noon to 1pm to pick up a free bag of provisions. No questions asked and you don't have to be a member of our Church. Please text "Bag" and your first name to the number, 07881 339217 so that we can reserve a bag for you
Bristol Dance Company
Brook Road, Fishponds Bristol BS16 3SQ
Web: WWW CFT BRISTOL ORG
wrongdoing, but the issue is unlikely to go away soon.
Councillors are due to vote on October 18 on whether to call an independent inquiry into the scandal, after concerns were raised that the internal report was the “bureaucracy marking its own homework”.
Ofsted's previous report on special needs provision in 2019 found: a lack of accountability of leaders; long delays and poor quality of education, health and care plans; underachievement of SEND pupils, with high rates of absenteeism and exclusions; lack of engagement and fractured relationships between the council and parents and carers; and inconsistencies in how quickly and effectively SEND pupils are identified and assessed.
Ofsted invited children, young people, parents and carers to let inspectors know their views in an online survey which ran in the last week of September. They can also email comments to inspectors at LAsend.support@ ofsted.gov.uk.
The council has also announced that families can apply for places at two new secondary schools due to open from next September, as demand rises for mainstream places.
They include the new Temple Quarter school, which will open on a temporary site in Bedminster before moving to a permanent home in Silverthorne Lane in 2025.
By Alex Seabrook, Local Democracy Reporting ServiceWE paid tribute in September to a life lived in public service.
Throughout Queen Elizabeth II’s reign she earned our respect and in her later years, as she carried out her duties despite her age and her obvious frailty, our affection.
I know that many across Bristol, the UK, and indeed the world will feel a great sense of loss.
The suspension of Parliament allowed me to attend several moving commemorative events to mark her passing.
I was en route back to Bristol when the sad news was confirmed but returned to Westminster to hear tributes in the House of Commons from the new Prime Minister, her two immediate predecessors, Keir Starmer, the leaders of the minority parties, and other senior political figures. This was followed by the ‘Presentation of Addresses’ in the gothic grandeur of
Westminster Hall, as King Charles spoke to MPs and peers for the first time.
On Sunday I viewed the Lying-In-State, before watching the State Funeral with family on Monday.
Most of us can’t remember a time without the Queen. For seven decades she has been a reassuring constant, as the world has changed around us.
I thought Keir Starmer phrased it well in his tribute speech when he said she represented a stillness – a sense of calm and continuation – at the centre of the storm.
Whatever your views on the institution of the monarchy, or who should be our head of state, it’s right that we pay tribute to a lifetime of public service.
This included several visits to Bristol and the South West, the first of which as monarch involved opening City Hall on College Green, known at the time as the
Council House. A decade later, in 1966, she cut the ribbon on the Severn Bridge linking our region to Wales.
In 1997 she met crew members of the replica of the ship The Matthew in Bonavista, Canada, after it had re-enacted John Cabot’s voyage from Bristol’s port 500 years before.
On more recent trips she could be found enjoying hip hop dances at Knowle’s Park Community Centre, or watching a performance of Peter Pan at the newly-renovated Bristol Old Vic.
She oversaw 15 different Prime Ministers in her reign: some, shall we say, more challenging than others!
Yet her neutrality has been integral to our democracy and it will be interesting to see whether King Charles III, whose views on some issues, like architecture, conservation and climate change are well known, will be able to maintain this.
My condolences go to her family. They have lost a mother, grandmother, and greatgrandmother.
We have lost our Queen. May she rest in peace.
made her name playing Estella in David Lean’s Great Expectations.
YET another bedraggled newspa per has emerged from a recycling bin at Glenside Hospital Museum.
And what a piece of history to discover, as Britain enters the latest phase of Conservative government.
The moth-eaten copy of the Daily Herald is dated February 1, 1950.
Once a very popular national newspaper, which grew out of an industrial dispute back in 1912, its lead story was headlined: "You Lose If Tories Win; TUC puts election issues to workers."
There were eight million trade union members in those days, and the 1950 general election was only weeks away.
Despite the achievements of Attlee’s post-war government ushering in the welfare state, Labour’s majority of 145 was about to be reduced to a mere 5. In less than two years, a snap election would put Tory Winston Churchill back in power, with an overall majority of 17.
A youthful Harold Wilson, then President of the Board of Trade and later to become Prime Minister, was out on the stump warning: "A vote for the Tories is a vote given for dearer food."
However the front page is dominated by a huge cartoon celebrating the arrival at the Herald of ‘Low’. Widely regarded as the top satirist of his day, David Low was to be knighted in 1983.
The election features throughout the paper, Bristol less so, but a reader from Knowle, F. Ewins, contributed "Make it general ejection - of Tories" to the Readers' Slogans column.
In the classified ads, Newman Industries, then a major employer in Yate, was looking for draughtsmen. The electric engine factory had been a target of the Luftwaffe during the war.
In other good news for Bristol, the government was promising generous long-term state aid for the remodelling of areas ‘blighted’ by the Blitz.
Bristol got its biggest mention at the foot of the sports page, with predictions for winners at its greyhound stadiums. Who knows now if Noisy Paddy won the 7.36 at Knowle, or Coloured Schoolboy II won the 9.06? At Eastville, Keepers Smack was tipped to win the 8pm, with Timely Conqueror to triumph at 8.15, and Khan Dhu to take the 9pm from Cappagh Casanova.
The headline at the top of the page says it all: "Crowd yawn as Roberto Proietti beats Billy Thompson: slow hand-clap for crude boxing."
"Racing pigeons to get more corn" explained that members of the National Homing Union could now get 56lb of maple and dun peas from New Zealand and Tasmania each month. The increase from a 21lb ration foretold a bumper breeding season.
The only woman on the entire page is tucked away in a tiny filler at the foot of the sixth column: "Miss Gem Hoahing won the women’s singles title in the Western India lawn tennis championship in Bombay."
At 4ft 9in, the ‘Mighty Atom’ was the shortest person to play in the tournament. She played at Wimbledon 19 times, reaching the fourth round twice.
Elsewhere Fashion Editor Marjorie Proops reported from Paris about hats.
Best known in her later role as the Daily Mirror agony aunt, ‘Dear Marje’ was famed for her campaigning work around issues of sex and sexuality.
The only showbiz story is the 21st birthday of "promising young film star" Jean Simmons, who had
Although surrounded by 19 cameramen, and posing with a variety of screen stars, the only picture shows Jean cutting her 7ft, star-shaped cake, watched by J. Arthur Rank, to whom she was under contract.
Elsewhere, a classic 'triumph over tragedy’ story tells of sevenyear-old "miracle child" Janet Warren, born with two dislocated hips but rehabilitated at Great Ormond Street Hospital and now able to dance, run and ride a bike.
After a "three-hour tussle in icy sea", two sick men had been rescued by plane from Britain’s most southerly base in the Antarctic, where they had spent a three-year stint on a scientific mission.
And how’s this for new technology? "Ring up for news," advises a tiny 'news in brief' at the foot of the front page, adding: "Switzerland inaugurates tomorrow a system by which telephone subscribers dial three numbers and get latest news."
But, according to the paper’s American correspondent, Arthur Webb: "The art of striptease is on its last legs, victim of television and the Bikini two-piece bathing suit."
Hard to believe this stalwart voice of the labour movement was relaunched after its closure in 1964 - as The Sun.
Glenside Hospital Museum is open 10-1pm on Wednesday mornings and 10-4pm on Saturdays.
For more information visit www. glensidemuseum.org.uk.
A job advert for miners tells potential applicants: "you know your future's secure in the country's coal mines"
Film star Jean Simmons cuts her 21st birthday cake
*In last month's Voice, one of the pictures in the local history column was incorrectly captioned. The caption should have read: "The comic book hero Kit Carson."
Mike Jempson delves into Glenside Hospital Museum’s wastepaper bins and unearths a fascinating glimpse of life seven decades agoHerald fashion writer Marjorie Proops went on to become a famous agony aunt for the Daily Mirror
Are
Enquire now
0117 3773047
Experienced and caring staff who provide exceptional education to all children.
a
Engaging outdoor learning areas and equipment!
Vibrant and safe learning spaces where children thrive.
A Meaningful Curriculum that is designed to promote independence and lifelong learning skills.
Regular forest school sessions to develop resilience, social development and emotional skills!
Wednesday 12th October 2022 - 6.30-8pm
Do you have a child born between 1st September 2018 and 31st August 2019? If so, we will be holding an Open Evening for you to view Chester Park, the Headteacher will give a talk at 6.30pm and you will be able to tour the schools and talk to teaching staff.
Book now call 0117 3773047 or email c chesterparki@bristol schools.uk
“Adults form positive and caring relationships with pupils. Pupils trust adults in the school and feel valued and respected” - Ofsted 2019
IT'S coming up to a year now since we started work to transform the Nissen Hut from a sad neglected shell into a modern, well-equipped and welcoming community hub.
The end result is already more than meeting our expectations of a thriving space for a wide range of community activities, and we are so pleased to receive all of the lovely comments from everyone who visits.
As the year has gone by, we have seen a steady increase in bookings for wellbeing activities, with regular weekly groups supporting people of all ages.
Imayla’s exciting programme of fun days for children during the summer was a joy, and the Creative Youth Network led some inspiring sessions of nature-based arts and crafts for teenagers.
Your Park’s ‘Roots to Wellbeing’ sessions are going from strength to strength, helping people who have struggles with mental health, anxiety, isolation or loneliness. This is green social prescribing at its very best, connecting with nature and offering support through creative and mindful activities in Eastville Park.
In recent weeks the Nissen Hut has provided a beautiful and accessible spot to host a fiveweek nature-based programme for mothers and their babies, to support their well-being.
In collaboration with the charities Bluebell and Refugee Women of Bristol, the programme was co-designed alongside people with lived experience of postnatal mental health stresses. Mothers have valued enhancing their connection with the natural world, spending time outdoors with their baby, and sharing enjoyment and creativity in this lovely space.
As we move into October, Vassall Centrebased Carers Support Centre begins a series of regular weekly informal walk and talk groups in Eastville Park.
Unpaid carers make a huge contribution to our community, and often go unnoticed and undervalued, and we all know someone who
tirelessly puts in the love and time to look after those close to them.
These walks are a great way to meet with other carers for some quality time in the park.
Led by friendly support workers every Thursday, the first walk is coming up on October 6. At the end you can rest up in the Nissen Hut with a nice hot drink and nibbles! To find out more, please contact 0774 229 1073 or email walk@ carersupportcentre.org.uk.
It’s not only the major stores who are
thinking about Christmas already. We’re busy putting our thoughts together for our own spectacular festive extravaganza at the Hub. We have a little more time to prepare this year, so expect something inspired and cheery to brighten the dark winter evenings and make sure an evening family outing to the Hut is in your diary for the weeks leading up to Christmas this year!
The bottom of the park is looking more like its old self again after the Tokyo World festival in September. It will take a while for the ground to recover but each year it seems to settle quite quickly and, thanks to the hard work of the clean-up teams, there’s usually not much to show that it was ever here.
Anything that was left behind was quickly spotted by our amazing parks clean team, led by Gary, and whisked away PDQ. We held our pop-up café on the Saturday and during the early afternoon completely lost our mobile data connection: a lonely card payment reader is no match for 20,000 mobile phones all competing for the same space, for sure!
We'll soon be watching autumn lose its glorious colours as the season changes and the park takes on its winter plumage. It's quite beautiful at any time of year, and there will always be something new to see and enjoy on our walks around the park.
The Friends of Eastville Park annual general meeting returns after a long break due to Covid, and we’re delighted to invite you all to join us at the Nissen Hut on Saturday October 8, starting at 10.30am.
The meeting will have an open format and, as well as hearing our latest news and plans for the future, we hope we can encourage many of you to come along and share any ideas you may have with us. It will be a great opportunity to contribute to the discussions and help to shape the way forward for your park.
The Parkie The park's community hub hosted fun days for children this summer. Picture: Andy GeeONCE again I find myself speculating on future changes to planning, as being overtaken by events forces a reassessment.
Being overtaken by events seems to be fast becoming the theme of this decade!
I remember learning over 30 years ago that there were certain themes in planning that came, went and came back again over the years.
In much the same way, government policy, when you look at the sweep of history, can ebb and flow like the tides.
State intervention, for instance, has traditionally been the mantra of the left, yet it was the Johnson government that intervened on a massive scale in providing furlough payments to help the country survive the economic shock of the pandemic.
If it had been left to the market to sort out the results, as the right prefers, the result doesn‘t bear thinking about. In a crisis, it is
surely better to ignore ideology and do the right thing instead.
I can‘t see that the Johnson years (barely a plural) have made much of a mark on planning. A lot was promised, much of it contradictory, but there was always a telling lack of detail.
Part of the promised change was effectively to sideline the public in planning decisions, through broad-brush land designations across the country and further liberalisation of what can and can’t be built.
A few lost by-elections later, and that idea was dropped - or at least put on the back burner - as pragmatism took over.
So is the Johnson era of grand ideas over? As ever, time will tell.
I have spent so much time speculating on Boris Johnson‘s intentions for planning, and that time was wasted among large promises and little delivery.
I will try to avoid falling into that trap again as we enter a new
era, where the large promises have started to arrive and, once again, we wait to judge the delivery.
What I do know is that energy self-sufficiency is now a matter that cannot be ducked and Liz Truss is not doing that. Despite public support, on-shore wind generation is still off the agenda, but fracking is apparently coming back, along with nuclear.
Noises have been made (once again) about speeding up the planning process for national infrastructure projects.
It is possible that this could be part of a larger scheme for reforming planning.
It is also possible that the discovery of a whole magic money forest, to pay both for a solution to soaring energy bills and for tax cuts, means that local authorities, where the planning budget has been more than halved on average over the last decade, will once again be fully
resourced. Even housebuilding giant Redrow is advocating this sort of approach.
Over the last few years speculation has ended up being overtaken by events and, with everything seemingly changing faster than ever, I will try not to get drawn in until that everelusive detail is revealed.
Chrisgoslingplanning@gmail.com
THE passing of anyone in their 90s, even in this new golden age of medicine, can hardly be considered a surprise.
But it was nevertheless shocking to hear those words out loud. The Queen is dead; long live the King.
She was a month older than Marilyn Monroe, three years older than Martin Luther King and 14 years older than John Lennon. She was older than Lego, air conditioning and the creation of the greatest pop group the world has ever known.
It felt like the Queen was always there; a fixture in the nation, as certain as the sun rising and setting each day.
Even as the world changed around her, as those figures from an unreachable past I’ve just mentioned succumbed to that one certainty in life, she remained.
But she changed with the times too. Even the most diehard republicans would have to admire her for her almost Beatle and Bowie-like ability to adapt and reinvent - to move, and excel, in a changing world.
While her longevity was impressive, her sense of duty was extraordinary - a life of im peccable service and conduct, carried out with
Like during the first covid lockdown, when she gave a stirring tutorial in leadership for all politicians. Sporting her usual pearls and gazing steadily at the camera, she gave hope and calm where there was neither when she said those immortal words, echoing Battle of Britain and World War Two spirit: “We will meet again.”
The Queen’s sense of duty was perhaps illus trated best by her conduct during the securing of the Northern Ireland peace process.
This most terrible of conflicts had cost many thousands of lives on both sides - including a member of the Queen’s own family.
To see her shake hands with the head of the IRA, as peace was finally secured, was a momen tous event - showing why peace is so hard to obtain, and the character and personal sacrifices needed to make it happen.
So the grief for so many West of Englanders - for so many of you reading this column - is real and palpable, deep and heartfelt.
Many are in mourning, not just for a genu inely remarkable monarch but for a constant in all our lives - a reassuring and calming presence for so many, at home and across the globe.
The country the Queen came to symbolise
by the lottery of birth is bigger than any one individual or institution. As one era ends, so another begins.
We face so many challenges, both as a na tion, and in our brilliant West of England.
Let us all then remember and live by the values which the Queen cherished, and which made her reign so special: duty, fidelity, and service to others.
If we not only remember these values, but also do our best to live by them, the Queen’s influence will live on well beyond her passing, to make us an even better nation and region.
Metro Mayor Dan Norris writes for the Voice
That’s 100 months… or 8 years and 4 months… or roughly 75,000 words. Now that’s a milestone!
I WOULD like to take a moment to thank you all for reading this, whether this is the only blog you have read, or if you have been with me since the beginning, when my little angel and first-born Molly arrived, through to Harry and now little Oscar. There have been so many highlights, from working at the IAAF World Athletics in London 2017 and witnessing Bristol Rovers achieve back-to-back promotions, to building the new clinic, welcoming a host of new staff and working at the 2022 Commonwealth Games – and lots more in between.
OK, so the 20th season has only just started, but it’s here and I’m pleased I made it! It all started with the amazing Junior Agogo. After a day working at Bristol Rugby, with whom they were sharing a ground at The Mem at the time, I got a call from Bristol Rovers asking me to: “Please help Junior with his neck injury. He’s our best player, but he can’t move his head and we need him tomorrow”.
So typical Junior (as it turns out) arrived 30 minutes late for his 45-minute appointment and walked in as though it was no big deal, sat down and asked me to fix him. Thankfully, despite the high pain levels and heavily restricted neck movement, he responded well to some classic chiropractic treatments. He played the next day and scored the winning goal. Sadly, Junior passed away in August 2019 at just 40.
Kyle is one of the best rugby props in the world, a Bristol Bears favourite and regular England and Lions player. And now the secret’s out – he was referred to Cleve Chiropractic for help with the acute back pain that saw his season cut short earlier this year. He kindly mentioned the clinic in a double-page spread in The Times as one of the big reasons he has recovered from a potentially career changing injury.
When Kyle arrived at the clinic he was in a pickle. He couldn’t sit and had to lie down in the car to travel anywhere. He was adamant that he didn’t want the back surgery that had been proposed, so he was recommended to me, which is always humbling. He was ready to do anything, so we got to work. Kyle quickly became one of the most committed players I have ever seen, showing a brilliant attitude that undoubtedly aided his recovery. Clearly, it’s a quality
which has seen him rise to the top of his game. Kyle’s journey was full of highs and milestones, along with some of the lows that come with major injury recovery. His ultimate milestone though is this…
He started the first game of the new season for Bristol Bears, with no surgery, months earlier than expected. I am so proud of, pleased for and impressed by him. Life has thrown Kyle many hurdles to climb but I don’t believe he jumped over any of them – I think he just dropped his shoulder and smashed through them!
Marcus and his wife Louise are dear friends. I got to know him really well when he returned to work as a coach with Bristol Rovers. He was amazingly successful – as he had been as a player with Rovers – and helped the team bag back-to-back promotions. Ever since then I have treated him in clinic and we regularly catch up socially. He is kind, generous with his time and quick to smile and laugh with you.
As I’m sure many of you know, Marcus was recently diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease. Despite this, Marcus and Louise are still going strong and enjoying life. They have been planning a series of events to raise money for the Darby Rimmer MND foundation.
The foundation, which has
given Marcus and Louise lots of support, information and guidance, was founded by former Liverpool footballer Stephen Darby and his close friend and army veteran Chris Rimmer, who both have MND. The charity supports people and their families who have been diagnosed, as well as the search for ground-breaking treatments.
Medical science can be truly wonderful and a cure for MND will be found. So, the final milestone of this month’s blog lies in the future – to help speed up the search for a cure for MND. Marcus and Louise hope to raise £100,000 for the foundation. To support them, please search for ‘Team Stewart’ on Just Giving, or find the link on our social media accounts.
October 4-18
n ART EXHIBITION at St George library by Butler House art group, during library opening hours. Come and see what can be done in a year by novice painters who started in the year after lockdown.
October 6
n BEGBROOK COMMUNITY
OPEN DAY at Grow Wilder, Frenchay Park Road, 4-6pm. Join us at your local community wildlife hub to find out more about what we do, with music, refreshments from our cafe, free tours of the site.
October 8
FILM CLUB at the Nissen hut, Eastville Park, 6pm: The Electrical Life of Louis Wain.
October 9
n APPLE DAY at Fishponds
Community Orchard, Thingwall Park Allotments, Fishponds, from noon-5pm. Free entry. Signposted from allotment gates Thingwall Park. Join us for apple juicing, cider, cakes, refreshments and produce for sale, children’s storytelling.
October 10
n HILLFIELDS COMMUNITY
GARDEN Wild Women, 7-9pm. Supportive group for women of all ages, sharing seasonal food and drink, and exploring simple
mindfulness techniques. No need to book, just turn up on the day. More information from hillfieldswildwomen@gmail.com.
October 14
n CONCERT. ST. MARYS CHURCH Manor Road. Fishponds. Friday October 14th 2022.
12.30. - 1. With - Ladies who sing.
October 15
n HILLFIELDS COMMUNITY
GARDEN Volunteer Group, 10.30am-noon. Friendly group, all ages welcome, no tools or experience needed. Activities for children. More details hillfieldscommunitygarden@gmail. com
October 16
PEOPLE'S UNIVERSITY of Fishponds Historic England Workshop, 7pm, Nissen hut, Eastville Park. find out how to do archival research using historic maps, aerial photographs, listed buildings and street directories. Pre-book via PUF Facebook page.
October 18
n DOWNEND GARDENING IN RETIREMENT CLUB, 10.15am, Assembly Hall, Salisbury Road. Non-members welcome, £3 including tea or coffee. Easily reached by any bus into Downend.
October 25
n HILLFIELDS COMMUNITY GARDEN Mini Explorers, 1011am. Friendly playgroup with gardening, stories, songs, crafts and activities for children aged 2-4, parents/carers, siblings. Free – no need to book. Details hillfieldscommunitygarden@gmail. com.
October 29
POP-UP CAFE at the Nissen hut, Eastville Park, 9.30am-2pm.
October 30
PEOPLE'S UNIVERSITY of Fishponds event, 'The Cry of the Poor', 7pm, Nissen hut, Eastville Park. Bristol Radical History Group talk about their research into a famous open letter to Bristol’s aldermen from local workers. Prebook via PUF Facebook page.
n BARTON HILL RFC CHARITY CAFE, Duncombe Lane, Speedwell, from noon until 3pm. Food and drink, bargain donated goods, friendly and welcoming place to meet, staffed entirely by volunteers raising money for charity.
n PHOENIX ART CLUB meets on
Tuesdays at Stapleton Church Hall, Park Road, from 10am to midday.
n BARTON HILL RFC CHARITY CAFE, Duncombe Lane, Speedwell, from noon until 3pm. Food and drink, bargain donated goods, friendly and welcoming place to meet, staffed entirely by volunteers raising money for charity.
n DOWNEND FLOWER ARRANGING CLUB meets at 7.30pm on the first and third Wednesday of each month from September to June, at Lincombe Barn, Overndale Road, Downend. Call Genise on 0777 245 1217.
n BRISTOL SCRABBLE CLUB meets every Wednesday evening at 7pm until 10pm at Filton Community Centre, Elm Park, Filton BS34 7PS. New members welcomefirst visit free so come along and give us a try. For further information contact Sheila on 01179570792 or 07435316458 or email shinett@ blueyonder.co.uk
n EASTVILLE PARK FOODCLUB OPEN FOR COLLECTIONS, every Friday 12-1.30pm. To enquire about membership, email eastvilleparkfoodclub@gmail.com or call 07591 748548.
We are now enabling close contact visits in the home, every resident is able to have an essential care giver, and there is no isolation required for new residents from the community.
We still have a varied activity schedule which keeps life interesting and happy.
We also ensure:
• Strict Infection Control measures approved by Public Health England are fully implemented
• Care staff wear PPE at all times and we have ensured a high volume of supply
• Skilled nurses are on site 24/7 and respiratory equipment is at hand
• Safe face-to-face visits where possible
DOWNEND Boxing Club members have been preparing for the first championship of the new season.
Jay Holloway, aged 18, Arthur Tipping (16), Usamah Zaman (22), Jasmine Poole (20) and Mya Das (15) are entering the English Boxing National Development championships that will see the best novice competitors compete for titles.
The first round of bouts took place on September 25 at the Harry Crook Centre in Fishponds.
Usamah won on points against Harry Edwards, of Devizes, in the Senior 63.5-67kg category.
After skills bouts for Seb Elliot (14) and Rudi Watts (10) against Chris Hancock (Plympton) and Ashton Anthony (Sydenham) respectively, Downend's Tom Davies (16) took on Mackenzie Elford of Blue Flames, losing on points.
Sam Pavey (14) then prevailed over Tyler Brookes of Synwell Boxing Club on points.
Mackenzie Lawrence (16) beat Oliver Colbourne of Sturminster Newton on points in the third junior contest.
It was then the turn of two seniors to take to the ring.
Riley Catley, son of former WBC Super Middleweight Champion Glenn Catley, took part in his third contest, a senior welterweight bout against AJ Fielder, of Plympton. Riley took the points decision.
Downend middleweight Thamani Becktemba (22) then took on Ray Haynes, of Sturminster Newton, but the contest was stopped by the referee in the first round, with the Dorset boxer awarded the victory.
Coach Conor White said: "Downend has produced seven national champions in its history, and I'm sure the current crop of talent will do their best in adding to the roll of honour."
Craig Turner
Downend made 1858 in their innings as they hosted the inaugural Bristol T20 final - enough for a 39-win over Burnham-on-Sea.
DOWNEND Cricket Club finished the season with a title after winning the inaugural Bristol T20 final.
After winning the midweek T20 league - despite losing their first game of the season - the club reached the final against the winners of the Weston midweek league, Burnham-on-Sea.
Downend hosted the final at the WG Grace Memorial Ground on September 24 and posted 185-8, before restricting the visitors to 146-6.
The win came the day after Downend's 1st XI secured their place in the West of England Premier League 2 for another season, courtesy of a six-wicket win over Ilminster in their final game.
