The Bristol magazine April by MC Publishing Limited

Bristol Cover APRIL 2013:Layout 1

20/3/13

18:56

Page 1

ISSUE 106 I APRIL 2013

THE

BRISTOL THE MAGAZINE FOR THE CITY OF BRISTOL www.thebristolmagazine.co.uk

M A G A £3.00 Z Iwhere N sold E

A MAYORS MUSIC George Ferguson’s eclectic mix

MAGIC ROUNDABOUT making over a city eyesore

BRISTOL WEAVERS Dash and Miller turn out the style

OUT & ABOUT Walking in a bluebell Wood

IN REVIEW Relaxed dining at The Bird Table

PROPERTY SHOWCASE Bristol’s premium property market

STYLE SPECIAL OUR SPRING FASHION SHOOT

CITY BUSINESS Tourists with a yen to visit Japan

SOFA Library APRIL fp - THIS ONE!:Layout 1

19/3/13

10:08

Page 100

THE SOFA LIBRARY

DON’T ONLY SELL SOFAS AND CURTAINS WE ALSO OFFER 30 STYLES OF WARDROBE IN HUNDREDS OF SIZE COMBINATIONS

UP TO 25% OFF WARDROBE ORDERS

Our range of German built wardrobes comes in over 30 door styles and hundreds of size/colour combinations Choose from either standard sizes or made to measure/fit and with sliding or opening doors Matching beds and cabinet furniture also available with a wide range of interior fitments

Our retail store at 56-60 Whiteladies Road, Clifton is open 7 days per week We currently offer up to 25% discount off your wardrobes depending on order value

Up to £500 less 15%

•

£501 to £900 less 20%

•

Bespoke sofas and curtains made in 10-20 days 180cm wardrobes from £350

5 metre corner robes from £1300 We are just past Clifton Down Shopping Centre 56/60, Whiteladies Rd, BS8 2PY Mon - Sat 9.30-5.30 Sunday 12-5

TEL: 01173 292746

Over £900 less 25%

Project1:Layout 1

19/3/13

11:03

Page 1

BRISTOL APRIL CONTENTS:Layout 1

20/3/13

10:42

Page 1

contents

April 2013 52

25 12

ZEITGEIST

Our top five things to do this month

THE CITYIST My Bristol, the buzz and a top read

FACE THE MUSIC Bristol’s first elected Mayor, George Furguson reveals his top ten tracks

ART & EXHIBITIONS The Affordable Art Fair and more

4 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

ORIENTAL TAILORING We profile two local graduates who set up successful travel firm, Inside Japan Tours

BRISTOL PEOPLE

FIT & FAB The latest beauty news and product reviews to put a spring in your step

BEAUTY REVIEW We discover the Lavish Salon & Spa in The Marriott Royal Hotel

RIVERSIDE CHARM Inside Cleeve Mill in Frenchay

92 THE WALK Explore a wood with bluebells and garlic

PROPERTY Premium property around Bristol

THE

BRISTOL twitter#thebristolmag

The latest goings-on in the city

FAMILY FUN Great events to enjoy together over the Easter break and beyond

WHAT’S ON Theatre, music and other events in April

FOOD & DRINK Foodie news and wines for spring

TEXTILE DESIGNERS A profile of design duo Juliet Hulme and Franki Brewer who set up Dash and Miller

FASHION SHOOT Our spring fashion shoot championing British design

RESTAURANT REVIEW The Bird Table on Coldharbour Road

Getting the jitters in front of your idols

BEARPIT REVIVAL We take a look at the stall holders bringing a bustling new scene to the Bearpit

BARTLEBY MR BRISTOW

The day the Mayoress climbed St Mary Redcliffe’s spire

Molluscs munching in the garden

A TALL ASK

LOCAL ENTERPRISE The streets of Bristol are humming with the sound of new and independent businesses being set up

ON THE COVER Meme of Mustard Model Agency wears fitted wool dress by Victoria Beckham, £535; bag by Vivienne Westwood, £180; and Melissa wedges, £85 all from Garment Quarter. Picture by Marko Dutka. www.studiomarko.com www.thebristolmagazine.co.uk

MAGAZINE

Project1:Layout 1

18/3/13

16:25

Page 1

Knight Frank April:full page

18/3/13

11:04

Page 6

Knight Frank

Abbots Leigh A beautiful home set in landscaped grounds in a sought after location. 3 reception rooms. Kitchen/dining room, leisure room, utility. Master bedroom suite, 6 further bedrooms (5 ensuite). Family bathroom. Separate shower room. Double garage, store room. Landscaped gardens. An acre of paddock available by separate negotiation. EPC rating D.

Guide ÂŁ1,850,000 KnightFrank.co.uk/bristol bristol@knightfrank.com 0117 3171999

KnightFrank.co.uk/bristol bristol@knightfrank.com 0117 3171999

Knight Frank April:full page

18/3/13

11:04

Page 7

Knight Frank

Abbots Leigh A rare chance to buy a house on the edge of Leigh Court. Modern detached cottage with 4 beds and generous living accommodation. Detached 2 bedroom annexe. Double garage. Gated drive. Swimming pool, hot tub and pool house. Carp pond and enclosed level gardens. EPC rating D (annexe C).

Guide ÂŁ1,050,000 KnightFrank.co.uk/bristol bristol@knightfrank.com 0117 3171999

KnightFrank.co.uk/bristol bristol@knightfrank.com 0117 3171999

Knight Frank April:full page

18/3/13

11:05

Page 8

Knight Frank

Clifton A rare chance to purchase a spacious semi-detached townhouse, requiring some modernisation. 3 reception rooms, kitchen, utility room, conservatory. 5 double bedrooms. Bathroom, shower room. Bedroom 6 / playroom. Attic. Unconverted cellars. 2 parking spaces and private rear garden. EPC rating F.

Guide ÂŁ1,000,000 KnightFrank.co.uk/bristol bristol@knightfrank.com 0117 3171999

KnightFrank.co.uk/bristol bristol@knightfrank.com 0117 3171999

Knight Frank April:full page

18/3/13

11:06

Page 9

Knight Frank

Sneyd Park For sale for the ﬁrst time, a stunning family home in a sought after private setting. 2 reception rooms. Mark Wilkinson kitchen, bespoke orangery. Utility, cloakroom. 4 double bedrooms (2 ensuite), bathroom. Gated drive. Detached oﬃce, 965 sq ft garage with PP. Generous level gardens & grounds. EPC rating D.

Guide £1,750,000 KnightFrank.co.uk/bristol bristol@knightfrank.com 0117 3171999

KnightFrank.co.uk/bristol bristol@knightfrank.com 0117 3171999

Sofa Workshop fp:Layout 10

18/3/13

12:13

Page 1

THE ED SEZ:Layout 1

20/3/13

10:34

Page 1

EDITOR’Sletter

s Bristol’s biggest, brightest magazine we like to accentuate the positive in our beautiful, bustling city. And what better way to do it than with our cover this month, with that glorious juxtaposition of Bristol’s historic industrial past and its forward looking present? We had great fun shooting down on the Harbourside, using the old cranes and the dockside railway stock alongside the very best of modern British design in the shape of clothes by Vivienne Westwood and Victoria Beckham. We’re also delighted to have been able to track down Bristol’s busiest man, that powerhouse of ideas and energy, Mayor George Ferguson, who sat down with Mick Ringham to talk not only about his career and his passion for the city, but also picking out his favourite pieces of music. I always think that the tracks people chose reveal a lot about their personalities, see if you agree. James Russell has been down to the Bearpit in the centre of town to see what exciting changes are being made to rejuvenate this rather unpromising sunken site, while Bethany Wivell profiles the award-winning Bristol-based travel firm Inside Japan Tours and looks at some of the up-and-coming small businesses burgeoning all over the city. If we do run into some fine, sunny days any time soon, I would recommend the little suntrap garden behind The Bird Table in Coldharbour Road. It’s just one of many of the delightful things to discover in The Bristol Magazine this month.

GEORGETTE McCREADY All paper used to make this magazine is taken from good sustainable sources and we encourage our suppliers to join an accredited green scheme. Magazines are now fully recyclable. By recycling magazines, you can help to reduce waste and contribute to the six million tonnes of paper already recycled by the UK paper industry each year. Please recycle this magazine, but if you are not able to participate in a recycling scheme, then why not pass your magazine on to a friend or colleague.

CONTACT THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE: Editor Tel: Email:

Georgette McCready 01225 424592 georgette@thebristolmagazine.co.uk

Deputy Editor Email:

Samantha Coleman sam@thebristolmagazine.co.uk

Editorial Assistant Email:

Rosie Parry rosie@thebristolmagazine.co.uk

Production Manager Email: Commercial Production Email:

Jeff Osborne production@thebristolmagazine.co.uk Lorna Harrington lorna@thebristolmagazine.co.uk

Publisher Tel: Email:

Steve Miklos 0117 974 2800 stevem@thebristolmagazine.co.uk

Contact the Advertising Sales team on tel: 0117 974 2800 Advertising Sales Email:

Kathy Williams kathy@thebristolmagazine.co.uk

Advertising Sales Email:

Katie Larkman katie@thebristolmagazine.co.uk

Advertising Sales Email:

Sue Parker sue@thebristolmagazine.co.uk

The Bristol Magazine, The Bath Magazine and West Country are published by MC Publishing Ltd and are completely independent of all other local publications.

www.thebristolmagazine.co.uk

April 2013

The Bristol Magazine 11

Zeitgeist April Bristol:Layout 5

19/3/13

12:26

Page 1

ZEITGEIST

things to do in April

Dress up

MINTED: beautifully fluid Roksanda Ilinic dress (£1,110) from the Harvey Nichols designer runway show at the Bristol Museum

We’re hoping by the time you read this that spring will be in the air and we’ll be able to enjoy the prospect of putting on brighter, lighter more summery clothes. If you’re feeling flush, or you have a special event to go to, the designer wear at Harvey Nichols is a place to find big names including Alexander McQueen and Victoria Beckham. Highlights of their spring/summer collections were shown at a runway show held against the historic and impressive backdrop of the Bristol Museum in Park Street recently in front of an audience of hundreds. But if your budget is more modest the city’s charity shop scene is a rich hunting ground for nearly new items at reasonable prices. St Peter’s Hospice, which has 46 shops in and around the city, staged a fashion shoot at Clevedon’s delightful vintage Curzon Cinema showing some of the popular brands to be found on its racks, including Christian Dior, Miss Selfridge, Cath Kidston, Warehouse, Fenn PICTURE: Stephen Lewis Wright Mason and River Island. And if you need to make space in your SKINT: from the St Peter’s Hospice charity shops, wardrobe for new purchases, charity shops are Louisa is wearing Warehouse blouse, £4.75; George more than happy to take your pre-loved items. Simonton pleated cream skirt, £15 and sandals, £7.50

Explore

Book

A new way of getting to know Bristol’s landmarks has been launched, with a website, phone app and trail map called Bristol Opening Doors. It’s inspired by the annual Doors Open Day, when thousands queue to peek inside some of the great institutions of the city, some of which are normally out of bounds. Bristol Opening Doors turns the key into ten buildings including the Bristol Old Vic, St James Priory, the Bristol Heart Institute and Horizon House, the new Environment Agency offices. Bristol Opening Doors is launched on Saturday 3 April with an exhibition at the Architecture Centre’s harbourside home – admission is free. This runs until 26 May. There will be a guided walk on Wednesday 17 April from 6pm, taking in a number of key buildings which feature in the project. Booking is essential on tel: 0117 922 1540.

Tickets have gone on sale for a new venture being held this summer at the Bristol Old Vic, under the direction of theatre director Tom Morris. The Bristol Proms, which runs from 29 July to 3 August, will be a proms like no other as audiences are treated to new ways of experiencing classical music – and tickets have been pegged at £5 to underpin the assertion that the classics are not elitist. Violinist Nicola Benedetti will be playing in collaboration with digital artists to explore vibration, and a choir will sing a cappella in the pitch dark, which should be something special. For more details visit: www.bristololdvic.org.uk.

Sleep out Bristol is staging its first Big Issue Big Sleep Out on Friday 19 April at St Paul’s Church in Portland Square to raise awareness of the plight of the homeless. Encouraging people to give up their home luxuries for the night and bed down on cardboard to raise funds for one of the UK’s most important charities. To register online visit: www.bigissue.org.uk/bigsleepout

12 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

Nicola Benedetti

Visit Ancient carvings from temples, statues, jewellery and mysterious hieroglyphics all form part of the fascinating Pharoah: King of Egypt exhibition on loan from the British Museum in London, which runs until Sunday 21 July at the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery. A family ticket is £10 and individual entrance is £5 for adults, £4 concessions and £3 for children. The museum is also running free Fridays, on 19 April, 17 May, 21 June and 19 July. There is also a night at the museum event on 16 May from 5pm – 8pm, with music, dancing and Egyptian make-up.

Granite Transformation fp 1:Layout 6

18/3/13

14:49

Page 1

Cityist Bristol:Layout 4

19/3/13

12:23

Page 1

ist

THE CITY

One city . . . one month

The buzz

BRISTOL

We ask Stan Cullimore, writer, musician, TV presenter and jack-ofmost-trades what he’s doing this

month

Give us a clue:

The line-up for this year’s spring CrimeFest in Bristol has been unveiled, with three of the talents behind the TV series Sherlock, Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss and Sue Vertue scheduled to speak to fans of the crime genre. CrimeFest 2013 runs from 30 May to 2 June and, in addition to speakers such as Robert Goddard and Jeffery Deaver, there’ll be a chance for writers to pitch their work to literary agents. Visit: www.crimfest.com for more details of the programme.

Women are being invited to sign up to see the sites of Bristol by moonlight, as volunteers are sought for the annual Midnight Walk being held in aid of St Peter’s Hospice. The walk begins at Ashton Gate Stadium at 10.30pm on Saturday 13 July, and the route takes in the Harbourside and ss Great Britain. Choose a five or ten mile option. Registration is £15, to include a T-shirt. Visit: www.stpetershospice.org.

Run: Start training now for Cancer Research’s Race for Life, being staged in Bristol in July. There’s a 5k race on Sunday 7 July and a 10k event on Saturday 6 July. Both are women only, registration is £14.99 and participants can run, walk or jog the route. Visit: www.raceforlife.cancerresearch.org

Twitterati 14 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

What brought you to Bristol? When I was in The Housemartins we toured a lot, so I got to know most of the big cities in the UK quite well. Bristol always felt like I was coming home somehow. I thought maybe it was because my brother lived in Clifton. After I moved here with my wife and kids, Dad casually mentioned that all our family came from around these parts years ago. One of our great uncles ran a shop on Whiteladies Road. So it really was like coming home after all.

of their scones or cakes is my idea of heaven. If the sun’s shining we might even take Mabel the dog and sit outside. Which museum or gallery will you be visiting? I’ve got four gorgeous grandkids. So if any April showers come calling, I’ll probably be found in the Bristol Museum, trying not to lose any of them. The kids always manage to find something new to show me. Last time it was a Bronze Age skull with a brain eating snail inside it. Yuk!

What are you reading? I’ve just got into reading ebooks on my Samsung Tablet. My youngest son started me off when we went to Center Parcs together and I read Great Expectations on his iPad. That set me off on a Dickens binge. At the moment I’m reading A Tale of Two Cities.

Your passions? What hobbies or interests will you be pursuing? I’ll be taking to the waterways again. I recently got into narrowboating and love spending time on a boat. It’s the perfect way to unwind and a great opportunity for me to wear my collection of odd and unfashionable hats.

What is on your MP3 player? I’ve got a swiMp3 player – it attaches to your goggles and transmits sound through your skull. It looks crazy but does the job. I do quite a bit of swimming and without something to listen to I get bored. Thin Lizzy’s Greatest Hits is my latest pop pick – just the right tempo to help me grind out those miles!

What local outdoor activity will you be doing? There’s a bluebell wood that our family have been going to for years. It’s one of those fairytale places with streams to paddle in, islands to build dens on and trees to hide behind. The kids (and the dogs) love it.

Which café or restaurant takes your fancy? Tart is the perfect café experience for me and the wife. We do most of our food shopping on the Gloucester Road. A cup of coffee with one

Petite Mort by Beatrice Hitchman, published by Serpent’s Tail, £12.99 A debut novel from Bristol-based author Beatrice Hitchman, Petite Mort, or, a little death, is set in the silent film industry of early 20th century Paris, and follows the story surrounding a silent film, destroyed in a fire in 1913 at the Pathé studio. As the title suggests, dark forces are at work in this tale of glamour and trickery, and Hitchman’s exciting plot twists and turns throughout, with a mix of interesting characters,

Next thing I’m doing is playing some songs in a shed in Clevedon. This guy started inviting musicians to record in his garden shed. He’s had over a million hits and he’s very kindly asked me to go along and have a play. Check out: www.songsfromtheshed.com.

to keep you guessing until the end. Told from the point of view of Adèle, an aspiring actress, the silver screen world is brought to life through sparking costumes and high drama. Be prepared to be absorbed.

We’re following @Bristol52, run by the people for the people. It’s a project involving 52 tweeters over 52 weeks airing their opinion on all kinds of topics – all of them Bristol-centric. Currently with around 1,500 followers.

Granite Transformation fp 2:Layout 6

18/3/13

14:49

Page 1

Bartleby april:Layout 7

19/3/13

17:32

Page 1

SPRING COMES AT A SNAIL’S PACE

’m excited. I have a treat to look forward to, a seasonal treat that follows the equally seasonal chore of clearing unwanted vegetation out of the back garden to make way for this year’s crop of snail food. Funny isn’t it? I’ve just spent hours removing living herbage in order to plant other green things that are probably doomed to perish in the eternal war between gardener and mollusc. I don’t know about yours, but our slugs and snails will eat practically anything. We once had a daffodil, oh yes, we once had a daffodil that overcame the odds and flowered gloriously. I took a picture, which was just as well because the next morning only a ragged yellow circle remained. The day after that too was gone, and by the third day the stem of the plant had been devoured. Tulips have been similarly consumed – the bulbs too. Last year I planted runner beans in pots made by balancing a couple of car tyres on top of each other and filling them with earth. Around the sides I spread Vaseline as a deterrent against snails, and on the soil I sprinkled the kind of slug pellets that don’t poison frogs. My beans sprouted, the leaves unfurled, and tiny tendrils reached out for the bamboo poles I had arranged in an attractive wigwam. The plants grew stronger. I pictured them fullygrown, weighed down with copious quantities of beans. Morning and evening I checked the pots and saw nothing, no telltale slime, to suggest that the molluscs had even noticed the juicy treats growing there.

❝

Within a few weeks the plants were trailing all over the garden, climbing up the fence and brandishing their orange flowers at the neighbours

❞

Then one day I got up, went downstairs and found… well, you can imagine. Where there had been young sturdy plants there were now stumps, one or two of them with half a leaf still attached. I protected these survivors with a wall of non-harmful pellets, but the next day they too had been consumed. I thought about replanting but my heart was no longer in it, so instead I chucked in a few nasturtium seeds and within a few weeks the plants were trailing all over the garden, climbing up the fence and brandishing their orange flowers at the neighbours. Covered in snails they were, but nasturtiums grow so fast even our voracious arthropods can’t destroy them. Other great survivors include the evergreen clematis, which I don’t think the snails can get their teeth into; instead they hide underneath the leaves. They also hide in the ivy at the end of the garden, about ten feet from the house, which is one reason why I take great pleasure in cutting it back every spring. As I hack and tug at the tenacious old creeper, the snails come tumbling out. They lie there, playing dead like the kids do on a rainy Monday morning before reluctantly sticking their heads out and slithering off to the nearest hiding place. Gradually the pile of ivy grows, to be joined by coils of clematis and the curious spiky branches the ancient apple tree throws vertically upwards with punk rock disdain. I then remove the pile to a groundsheet, bundle it up and drag it through the house to the waiting car. Usually this takes several journeys, with a couple of sacks of abandoned plastic plant pots chucked in at the end for good measure. The car is waiting outside as I write, and in a few minutes I’ll jump in and head for one of my favourite places: the Days Road Household Recycling Centre or, as we used to call it in the old days, the dump. It’s a strangely convoluted journey through the back streets of St Phillips, with the reward at the end of backing up to a great pile of green stuff and unloading ivy and clematis, and several hundred snails. I’ll shut the boot and drive away, light-hearted. Spring has sprung. ■ 16 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

Farrow & Ball fp:Layout 1

19/3/13

13:28

Page 1

Mr Bris April:Layout 6

19/3/13

10:56

Page 1

Mr Bristow

when the unfeasibly diminutive figure of Tom Cruise hove into view in the foyer) but disappointed in oneself. I took part in a charity Christmas reading and one of the other readers was Anthony Head. In the Green Room we exchanged pleasantries. But what else to say? He didn’t know who I was and I could hardly say ‘I thought you were awfully good in Buffy.’ What I really wanted to know was if Uther Pendragon was going to rise from the dead yet again in Merlin. Mr Head had a guitar with him so instead I said something pathetic like ‘Ooh, I didn’t know you could sing.’ Which, incidentally, he can. Backstage at a concert hall I realised the lone figure approaching me down the long empty corridor was none other than Leonard Bernstein. It was Christmas Eve 1989. The concert hall was the Berlin Philharmonic on the famous Ode to Freedom occasion when he conducted Beethoven’s 9th to mark the fall of the Berlin Wall. At this monumentally important moment in political and musical history all I could muster was ‘Are you lost too?’

Blurting at the rich and famous

was amused to read about the couple who felt they had to apologise for not being Johnny Depp. So much speculation was going on as to who would be moving into their beautiful new Somerset home that they felt obliged to point out it was they rather than the Hollywood superstar that would be gracing its portals. Presumably part of the reason for owning up was to discourage rubberneckers, but the amount of media coverage given to the apology assured them of a certain celebrity status of their own. You can imagine coachloads of tourists being told ‘And on your left you can see the house that is famously not the home of Johnny Depp.’ Cue a hundred photographs. Mind you, Mr D has occasionally been seen in the area, setting off a deluge of hysterical tweets. Mr Bristow is an ardent celeb spotter himself, but hasn’t scored much lately. Just one of those obscure newsreaders, brought in on Sunday or during strikes, seen shopping in one of Bath’s posher thoroughfares. In jeans! You rarely see their lower halves but a newsreader sporting denim is somehow wrong. One is invariably disappointed when one actually comes across one’s celebrity heroes in the flesh. Not disappointed by them necessarily (though I did witness the entire staff of a grand hotel in Hamburg stifling titters

this is going to be the one and only ❝ time I get to actually speak to my lifelong hero. What am I going to say? ❞ A chap I worked with used to drink in the same pub as The Scaffold, with whom he was on vague speaking terms. One day he was walking through Berkeley Square when a limousine drew up nearby. A small child jumped and ran off down the street towards my friend. He grabbed the child and was amazed to see that the boy’s father emerging from the car in hot pursuit was Paul McCartney. As the worried-looking rock legend approached, my pal thought to himself: ‘My god, this is going to be the one and only time I get to actually speak to my life-long hero. What am I going to say?’ In his panic he completely blew this lifetime opportunity by blurting out ‘I used to know your brother!’ (Mike McGear of The Scaffold is indeed McCartney’s sibling). Sir Paul gave him a withering look as if to say oh dear, another loony fan, and without uttering a word shepherded the child back to the car. ■

Kemps Jewellers established 1881 9 CARLTON COURT, WESTBURY ON TRYM • 0117 950 5090

Kemps are a family business, carrying an extensive range of new and second-hand jewellery, across a wide price range, and offering you • Professional Friendly Advice • • Beautiful Gift Ideas • • Gift Wrapping Service • • Registered Pawnbrokers • • Jewellery and watch repairs undertaken • • Gold purchased - old jewellery & coins •

www.kempsjewellers.com

18 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

Project1:Layout 1

18/3/13

14:46

Page 1

The Mayor's Face the Music:Layout 1

18/3/13

13:46

Page 1

FACEtheMUSIC

Mr Mayor’s musical vote Bristol’s busiest man, Mayor George Ferguson, spares the time to talk to Mick Ringham about his passion for the city and the music that inspires him

ntrepreneur and architect George Ferguson, the first elected Mayor of Bristol was sworn in to his new role a little over five months ago, making local history as the city’s first elected mayor. Since then his feet have barely touched the ground as the man in red trousers attempts to sort out a myriad of issues, from the city’s public transport system to tackling the city council’s spending budget. It was no surprise then, when I asked if I could interview George for this feature that he said yes with enthusiasm and we then spent a couple of weeks trying to find a time when he wasn’t being briefed, in a meeting or out listening to his people’s concerns. But meet we finally did, at breakfast time one morning where we talked about his career and his favourite pieces of music. It was while studying at Bristol University in the mid 60s that George became aware of Bristol’s appalling lack of constructive regeneration and sympathetic planning at that time. He takes up the story: “I started working in the city’s planning department after university, hoping as it were, to change things from the inside, however having managed to survive there for 18 months I decided to up sticks and start my own architectural practice.” George was only 23 at the time and a couple of years later saw him enter the world of local politics as a liberal councillor for the Cabot ward. He describes himself as a free thinker when it comes to party politics and regarded himself then, as now, as an independent. As he says: “The real pleasure in being a councillor came from representing and serving local residents, moreover, it was the best education one could have as I connected with a variety of people, which in turn kept me in touch with all local issues.” During this time his practice, Ferguson Mann Architects, started to achieve a national reputation, later winning plaudits and awards for projects and schemes in urban regeneration and planning. He went on to become President of the Royal Institute of British Architects, has been awarded honorary degrees from both universities in Bristol and was appointed a CBE in the 2010 New Years Honours list for his services to architecture and the community in the south west. But it was his involvement and overriding commitment to The Tobacco Factory in Southville which brought him to public prominence. George purchased the old Wills Tobacco Works in 1996 and set about over a seven year period, converting it to a multi-use building including a restaurant, performing arts school and its acclaimed theatre. He lives on the top floor of the Tobacco Factory and is proud of the social and cultural buzz which has been created in the area in recent years. He says:“It’s what you do with buildings rather than the buildings themselves.” George has three adult children, Alice, Corinna and John and three grandchildren. His former wife Livina (they are, he says, the best of friends) lives close by in Clifton Village. Finally I asked him the somewhat predictable question of why the red trousers? He gives a look as if to say – not that again. “The truth is that I hate wearing a suit and I also like to bring a little colour into life, wherever I am.” I left City Hall intent on investigating a few Bristol retailers as

20 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

to the popularity of red trousers and was surprised to hear that since November last year the sales of scarlet trews has risen by an astonishing 50 per cent. So now at the age of 66 Mayor Ferguson can enjoy a new title – that of style leader.

George’s top ten: ● Igor Stravinsky – Firebird This takes me back to my schooldays during the 1950s. It was a time when Bill Haley and his Comets were riding high in the

SARTORIAL STATEMENT: George Ferguson has prompted a surprise surge in sales of red trousers in Bristol

The Mayor's Face the Music:Layout 1

20/3/13

10:22

Page 2

FACEtheMUSIC

GEORGE’S PLAYLIST: left to right, Massive Attack, Angel, Francoise Hardy, Tous les Garcons and The Rolling Stones, Flip the Switch Below right, the Tobacco Factory is one of George’s success stories in Bristol

charts. But one of my teachers introduced me to a different form of music. Firebird was one of those pieces I found that got me interested and made me realise that there was some beautiful music out there. So in some ways it was the first piece of classical music that really grabbed me. ● Little Richard – Freight Train This is a song that painted a picture for me in my pre-teens. There is no doubt whatsoever that Richard at that time was truly fantastic and a man who possessed so much energy, which comes across on this record. I’ve never seen him perform but you never know, if he’s still rockin’, I might just get the chance. ● Francoise Hardy – Tous les Garcons Before I was a teenager love songs just didn’t mean anything to me. By the early 60s I started to have French lessons at school given by the French wife of one of the teachers. She played this song and hoped that it would inspire us to learn French. Needless to say, I was a bit in love with her and similarly Francoise Hardy. ● Buena Vista Social Club – El Cuarto de Tula When I was an architect, I lectured in Cuba but I also cycled across the country. When you listen to the music of Cuba you can’t help but dance. It’s the vibrancy and energy of the music that stirs the soul. I am a great fan of the overall rhythm of the island. This conjures up the essence of South American music. ● Vittorio Monti – Czardas This was his famous composition and has that feel of Eastern European gypsy music running through the piece. My daughter Corinna is a very good violinist as well as a barrister and was leader of the National Youth Chamber Orchestra. I have many memories of her playing this in the house when she was younger, after we got through the pain barrier with all that scraping – the violin can be a painful instrument on these occasions. She is now married to a musician and I have just heard the happy news that she is expecting a baby. A future Yehudi Menuhin perhaps?

Williamson and Buddy Guy, that represents the music of Chicago. Here in Bristol, we have a thriving blues and jazz festival which I would love to strengthen and hopefully make the city the New Orleans of the UK.

By the early 60s I started to have ❝ French lessons at school given by the French wife of one of the teachers . . . Needless to say, I was a bit in love with her

❞

● Joan Baez – House of the Rising Sun She sang with a purpose and a message and is also very beautiful both visually and orally. I believe she is a little older than me but still possesses a natural and fabulous voice. ● Massive Attack – Angel I like them and I admire the edge they have to their music. It’s haunting and of course very Bristol and I dearly hope they will be the opening act at the new city arena in 2016 – if we’re lucky. ● Edith Piaf – Je ne regrette rien The word legend is used so much these days, but here we have a true example of that term, if a sad one. Hers was an amazing story. She never held back on emotion and hearing that voice in full cry sends shivers down the spine. I have so many memories of my father playing her music and that of Eartha Kitt and other husky voiced ladies around the house – but she was the ultimate one. In many ways, she was tormented, exotic and of course totally French. ■

● The Rolling Stones – Flip the Switch This is from the Bridges to Babylon album and American tour. When the Matthew sailed over in 1997 on the 500th anniversary of John Cabot, I went over to meet it in Boston with Johnny, my son. A good friend, Patrick Woodruff, who does the lighting for the Stones and did the lighting for the London Olympics, gave us a couple of tickets to see them. It was a great bonding time for my son and me and the Stones were truly amazing. ● Junior Wells – It Hurts Me Too Johnny and I spent some time in Chicago, looking for good blues and jazz in the small clubs and bars there. Junior Wells is one of those legendary performers, along with Sonny Boy www.thebristolmagazine.co.uk

April 2013

The Bristol Magazine 21

Swindon fp:Layout 7

18/3/13

14:52

Page 1

Gardiners fp:Layout 11

18/3/13

12:17

Page 1

P24:Layout 22

19/3/13

15:08

Page 62

Ladies and Girls Clothing and Accessories

10% off full priced stock with this advertisement

For Unique Jewellery, Fashion Wear & Accessories

127 Coldharbour Road, Redland, Bristol BS6 7SN 0117 9245 478 www.sweetpeafashion.co.uk

MOTIQ 8 Boyces Avenue Clifton Bristol BS8 4AA 0117 973 8868 WEBSITE LAUNCH 1st MAY www.motiq.co.uk

138 White Ladies Road, Bristol, BS8 2RS, 0117 973 4517

Bringing the London look to Bristol, with interna onally trained salon director “Neo”; Neostar salon, as recently featured on Sky TV. All your hair could ever desire in one place; from the simplest trim to the most exquisite restyle, from a basic root nt to a complete colour change, from a modest moisturising mask to the latest Brazilian kera n treatments. All in a relaxed atmosphere, using only top quality products and the best equipment available, to give you that ul mate experience.

Neostar; authorised L’oreal & Kerastase stockist. Hope to see you soon! Please check our website for current promo ons: www.neostarstudio.co.uk 24 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

Best of British:Layout 2

20/3/13

17:17

Page 25

SPRINGfashion

Great British design Bristol Harbourside, where great engineers and builders once ruled the roost, is the ideal location to show off the best of 21st century British by fashion designers Vivienne Westwood and Victoria Beckham Photographed by Marko Dutka

MAKING TRACKS: Alex beside Bristol Harbour Railway – Britain’s only dockside passenger carrying steam railway – wearing Vivienne Westwood Anglomania jacket, £425, and circus sailor shorts, £200, with VW Gold Label Marc knitted shirt, £475, red Melissa Prism wedges, £85 and heartshaped bag by Westwood, £220 All from Garment Quarter

www.thebristolmagazine.co.uk

April 2013

The Bristol Magazine 25

Best of British:Layout 2

20/3/13

17:40

SPRINGfashion

RIVETING STUFF: Meme is wearing Vivienne Westwood men’s sweater, £520; Westwood Lady Dragon Bow shoes, £120 and ladies shopper bag by Westwood, £180 All from Garment Quarter

26 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

Page 26

Best of British:Layout 2

20/3/13

17:41

Page 27

SPRINGfashion

INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH: Alyse beside the giant Stothert and Pitt cranes on Bristol Harbourside wearing Vivienne Westwood Gold Label Black Out T-shirt £250 and neon circus sailor shorts, £200. Westwood croc clutch bag, £440, and Melissa contrast wedge, £90, by Westwood All from Garment Quarter

www.thebristolmagazine.co.uk

April 2013

The Bristol Magazine 27

Best of British:Layout 2

20/3/13

17:42

SPRINGfashion

FARE’S FAIR: Alyse aboard the vintage Bristol double decker inside the M Shed (admission is free) wearing Vivienne Westwood Anglomania Antoinette dress, £350 and Melissa Patchouli wedges, £85 All from Garment Quarter

28 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

Page 28

Best of British:Layout 2

20/3/13

17:44

Page 29

SPRINGfashion ALL ABOARD: Alyse aboard the Pyronaut fire boat which is maintained and run by volunteers, wearing Vivienne Westwood Anglomania Amarylis dress, £485. Heart shaped bag by Westwood, £220, Melissa wedge shoes, £85 All from Garment Quarter

www.thebristolmagazine.co.uk

April 2013

The Bristol Magazine 29

Best of British:Layout 2

20/3/13

17:45

Page 30

SPRINGfashion

Photography: Marko Dutka www.studiomarko.com Models: Meme, Alex & Alyse from Mustard Models www.bigmustard.co.uk Stylist: Katie Fishlock www.bathblah.com Hair: Jess Graham & Connor Miller from Artizan www.artizan.co.uk Tel: 01225 447087 Clothes, shoes and bags: Garment Quarter, Cabot Circus www.garmentquarter.com Make-up: Ruby Narbrough IN SPRING MOOD: Alex outside the M Shed wearing Victoria by Victoria Beckham No74 drop-waist blossom tunic, £725. Melissa Lady Dragon Bow shoes, £120 All from Garment Quarter

30 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

Photographer’s assistants: Sophie Blakeley & Amy Adair With thanks to Bristol City Council for the use of the M Shed and Bristol Harbourside locations

P31:Layout 23

20/3/13

11:28

www.thebristolmagazine.co.uk

Page 49

April 2013

The Bristol Magazine 31

spring fashion:Layout 1

20/3/13

11:15

Page 1

SPRING TRENDS Bristol’s best independents celebrate the coming of spring in style

Fluorite bracelet with a Thai Silver hammered heart, £35, Catherine Amesbury, 214 Gloucester Road Bishopston. Tel: 0117 924 9813

Wild horses scarf, £15, Sweetpea, 127 Coldharbour Road, Redland. Tel: 0117 924 5478

Michal Negrin bow earrings, £52, Motiq, 8 Boyce's Ave, Clifton. Tel: 0117 973 8868

Lily ring, 9ct gold, £475 large flower ring with sapphires, £2,250 in 18ct white and yellow gold, both from Julie Anne Palmer 129 Stoke Lane, Westbury-on-Trym. Tel: 0117 962 1111

Louche- leah dress £59, Fox and Feather, 43 Gloucester Road. Tel: 0117 329 2575

Wanderlust peacock clutch purse, £31.99, Iota 167 Gloucester Road. Tel: 0117 924 4911

Armistice-gold shoes £72, Fox and Feather, 43 Gloucester Road. Tel: 0117 329 2575

32 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

spring fashion:Layout 1

20/3/13

11:19

Page 2

Italian silk animal/flower print scarf, £34, Motiq, 8 Boyce's Ave, Clifton. Tel: 0117 973 8868

Dynasty Moth bracelet featuring antique French beading, with vintage 14ct gold filled chain, £65, Clifton Rocks, 100 Queen's Rd, Clifton. Tel: 0117 9731342

Wanderlust Peacock plates, set of 4, £29.99, Iota, 167 Gloucester Road. Tel: 0117 924 4911

Mimi Berry Peggy satchel in yellow, £220, Made Just So, 32 The Mall, Clifton Village. Tel: 0117 370 6180

Superdry sunnies, £100, Lunar Optical, 291 Gloucester Road. Tel: 0117 942 0011

Pug shopper, £7, Fox and Feather, 43 Gloucester Road. Tel: 0117 329 2575 Azuni 24ct gold plated hoop earring, Motiq, 8 Boyce's Ave, Clifton. Tel: 0117 973 8868

Uttam daisy print cardigan, £42, Sweetpea 127 Coldharbour Road, Redland. Tel: 0117 924 5478

www.thebristolmagazine.co.uk

April 2013

The Bristol Magazine 33

Dash & Miller:Layout 4

20/3/13

17:51

Page 1

CITYdesigners

Weaving a winning yarn Samantha Coleman talks to a pair of textile designers whose work, begun in a Victorian schoolhouse in Bristol on 50-year-old hand looms, is sold throughout the world for high fashion and high street homeware

s one of the most creative cities in the world, Bristol draws to itself like a magnet individuals and groups with ideas and skills to set up business here, mixing with and sparking ideas off other creative types and establishing themselves as successful designers and makers. Juliet Hulme and Franki Brewer are two such creatives, who, after both studying fashion and textile design at university, met when working for a company in London. They soon discovered they shared a passion for textiles and design and decided to combine their in-depth knowledge of hand-weaving and industrial experience in a unique approach to textile design. They set up Dash and Miller (“a spin on the words ‘haberdasher’ and ‘miller,’” says Franki) in 2009, specialising in the design, development, and production of woven fabrics for the global fashion and interior industries. Since then Dash and Miller has grown from strength to strength and after establishing a firm market for bespoke, handwoven design in the UK and Europe, business had expanded into the US and Japanese markets. Last year, they relocated to their current studio, a Victorian schoolhouse in Barton Hill, from where they create beautiful and interesting textile designs on handlooms using experimental weave structures, yarn and colour combinations. Juliet, who has lived in Bristol previously, said: “We chose to settle in Bristol because we wanted to be surrounded by other creative people, and it’s got great transport links to other cities and the rest of the world, so we can fly to foreign countries for business meetings and design shows very easily. We also love the fact that it’s so close to the countryside too, which we missed in London.” “The studio is such a great space to work in,” says Franki. “There’s lots of light and the ceilings are high, which is good 34 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

because we have large traditional 50-year-old hand looms with metal strings and wooden bodies and an extensive library of multicoloured yarns filling bookcases that reach the ceiling.” It is here that Franki and Juliet create seasonal, trend-led luxury textile collections, conceived on the hand looms and then developed with a top British mill for production. The broad range of designs are available to order by the metre and a custom design service and seasonal exclusivity are available too. “We work very experimentally,” says Juliet. “And each design is a one-off, sold with copyright.” Their work is showcased on catwalks, translated into upholstery, wallpaper, bedding, and exhibited at the most prestigious textile shows in the world. Their womenswear collection is particularly highly regarded and the pair have worked with top design houses such as Chanel, Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton.

Bespoke woven fabrics are in ❝ high demand at the moment. We love experimenting with new yarns that we source from Italy

❞

“Bespoke woven fabrics are in high demand at the moment,” says Franki. “We love experimenting with new yarns that we source from Italy – we’re currently trying patent yarns, fluorescent yarns, plastic coated yarns and leather yarns. Our aim is to be leaders in design with new and innovative creations.”

DASH AND MILLER: opposite page, Juliet and Franki at work in their studio Above, some of the pair’s unique designs which are available to order by the metre

Dash & Miller:Layout 4

20/3/13

17:52

Page 2

CITYdesigners

STATESIDE STYLE: left, textured textile for New York designer Lyn Devon’s spring/summer collection

ON THE CATWALK: right, Dash and Miller for Milan fashion house Bottega Veneta, whose collections are available in Harrods and Harvey Nichols, London

And so far, it seems to be working; after earning the attention of today’s top designers, Franki and Juliet were called to develop custom woven designs with a similarly impressive cast including Bottega Veneta, Pringle of Scotland, Richard Nicoll and Matthew Williamson among others, and many of their designs were seen on the spring/summer 2013 catwalks. “We go to Paris twice a year and have meetings with top designers and go to trade shows, which is where we make new contacts,” says Juliet. Collaborating with ninth generation UK silk weavers Stephen Walters & Sons, Dash and Miller have developed fabric for catwalk collections in London, Milan and New York firmly establishing their niche at the top end of the industry. With their hand-woven design work proving equally popular among fashion and interior designers alike, Dash and Miller have galvanised on the dual demand for their patterns, spanning across the board from decadent upholstery to indulgent tailoring. The mastery of this art form is quite rightly held in high regard and Franki and Juliet, as Dash and Miller have firmly established themselves at the forefront of the industry. But it is hard work that has got them to where they are. They have been busy designing for the autumn/winter collections and visiting design shows. Franki said: “We’ve got so many ideas. Eventually, we’d love to expand our fashion collection and open our own production company. But for now, we just feel so happy that we get to do what we love every day.” ■ For further information visit: www.dashandmiller.com.

www.thebristolmagazine.co.uk

WHITE HOUSE APPROVAL: Hollywood based designer Barbara Tfank uses Dash and Miller. Her pieces have been worn by First Lady Michelle Obama on several public occasions, including the day she met the Queen at Buckingham Palace

April 2013

The Bristol Magazine 35

Whats On Bristol APRIL:Layout 1

18/3/13

10:51

Page 1

WHAT’Son THEATRE, DANCE, & COMEDY – listed by venue A lm a Tave rn The at re

Set in motion

18-20 Alma Vale Road, Bristol. Box office tel: 0117 973 5171 www.almataverntheatre.co.uk

Director’s Cuts: Edward Gant’s Amazing Feats of Loneliness, Tuesday 30 April – Saturday 4 May, 8pm; matinee: Saturday, 2.30pm The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School’s Director’s Cuts season opens with this play directed by Nik Partridge. Spectacular, mysterious and bizarre, Edward Gant and his travelling theatre troupe take you into a world filled with extraordinary and gruesome stories of loneliness. The result is a strange, comic and beautiful exploration of performance, mortality, imagination and wonder.

Director’s Cuts: Tender Napalm, Tuesday 7 – Saturday 11 May, 8pm; matinee: Saturday, 2.30pm A man and a woman wrestle between love and hate, violence and desire. Their words rip and tear at the scars of a tragedy neither wants to name. In the aftermath of disaster, is their love enough? This is a play by multi awardwinning artist, poet, novelist and film maker, Philip Ridley.

R e d g r a v e T h e a t re Clifton College, Bristol. Box office tel: 0117 973 3955 www.oldvic.ac.uk

A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Bristol Old Vic

B ri stol Old Vic King Street, Bristol. Box office tel: 0117 987 77877 www.bristololdvic.org.uk

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Until Saturday 4 May, 7.30pm; matinees: Thursday & Saturday, 2.30pm This is your last chance to see this enchanting play in its debut at the Old Vic. Having last worked together on the internationallyacclaimed WarHorse, Bristol Old Vic’s artistic director Tom Morris and Cape Town’s Handspring Puppet Company reunite before touring throughout the world. Shakespeare’s inexhaustible A Midsummer Night’s Dream unfurls in the intimacy of the theatre, interweaving the lives of lovers, actors, friends, foes and fairies. This is a dream about love, lust, survival and song. Suitable for ages 12+ (some sexual content).

The Bloody Ballad, Tuesday 2 – Saturday 6 April, 8pm; matinee: Saturday, 3pm, Studio Meet Mary: a girl with a dark past. When she falls in love for the first time she finds herself dragged on a journey of bloodshed, lust and carnage. The Brothers Grimm meet Quentin Tarantino in this brutal love story set around Memorial Day celebrations in 1950s America. Part gig, part slasher movie, part road movie, The Bloody Ballad features original live blues, rockabilly and Americana all backed by the 36 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

pounding rhythm of the show’s house band, The Missing Fingers.

Ablutions, Tuesday 16 – Thursday 18 April, please contact the theatre for times, Studio This is a Bristol Old Vic Ferment coproduction with FellSwoop Theatre. Picture yourself as a bartender, sipping top-shelf whiskey and watching your customers descend into nightly oblivion. Your heart is broken by the world around you and you hatch a devious, unthinkable plan of escape. This new show from FellSwoop Theatre is set on the west coast of America, blending a live soundtrack, detailed mime and a witty text adapted from the novel by Patrick DeWitt.

The Islanders, Thursday 18 – Saturday 20 April, please contact the theatre for times, Studio This is a Bristol Old Vic Ferment coproduction with Amy Mason, who has written and will perform this lo-fi musical. In the late 90s, teenage couple Amy Mason and Eddie Argos went on holiday to the Isle of Wight. Thirteen years on their memories of the trip vary wildly. Through stories and songs they try to make sense of an island, a holiday and relationship that have become absurd in the retelling. Funny, refreshing and ultimately moving, The Islanders is a show about memory, first love and growing up that weaves words, sound, music and story.

Moonfleet

Moonfleet, Wednesday 8 – Saturday 11 May, 7.30pm; matinees: Thursday & Saturday, 2.30pm Smugglers, shipwrecks, a haunted crypt, hidden treasure, vengeance and enduring love are the ingredients of J Meade Falkner’s classic tale, Moonfleet, brought vividly to life in Bristol Old Vic Theatre School’s latest west country touring production. Set on the Dorset coast in the village of Moonfleet, orphan John Trenchard is captivated by the story of the ghostly Blackbeard and his lost treasure. His search leads him to high adventures with smugglers, the revenue men, and eventually love. Moonfleet has enthralled generations with its fast-moving and breathtaking drama. This is a new literary adaptation written specially for Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and with an original score by Tim Laycock.

Bristol Ensemble fp:Layout 7

18/3/13

12:22

Page 1

Whats On Bristol APRIL:Layout 1

19/3/13

16:25

Page 2

WHAT’Son

T he Toba cc o F ac to ry Raleigh Road, Southville, Bristol. Box office tel: 0117 902 0344 www.tobaccofactory.com

factory who read Monte Cristo everyday while they work. But quickly the factory fades away and we are transported into the dramatic world of Dumas’ book.

award-winning Ross Sutherland. The Tobacco Factory has teamed up with the Hen & Chicken in North Street to programme one show per season in its space and this comedy is the first.

Two Gentlemen of Verona

B r i s t o l H i p p o d ro m e St Augustine’s Parade, Bristol. Box office tel: 0844 847 2325 www.bristolhippodrome.org.uk

Priscilla Queen of the Desert: The Musical, Monday 15 – Saturday 27 April, please contact the theatre for times

Two Gentlemen of Verona, Thursday 4 April – Saturday 4 May, please contact the theatre for times Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory begins its first ever national tour starting at the Tobacco Factory, with Shakespeare’s Two Gentlemen of Verona. Two lifelong friends – the two young gentlemen of the title – are parted first by circumstance, and then by rivalry in love. Can their loyalty to each other survive the test, or will new loyalties drive out the old? How deep into perfidy can one be driven by sexual obsession? And what do even the most adored of women count for in a profoundly masculine world? In support will be two of Shakespeare’s funniest clowns, exquisite music, including Who is Sylvia? and the disgracefully incontinent dog, Crab.

The Count of Monte Cristo

The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, Tuesday 23 April – Saturday 4 May, 8.15pm, The Brewery Theatre This is a harrowing yet funny tale exploring the legality and morality of electronic sweatshops in China, complete with armed guards, underage workers and an insight into the toxic effects of hexane. Meet Steve Jobs and the Chinese workers toiling to make the beloved iPhones. Starring Grant O’Rourke, playwright Mike Daisey’s monologue is an emboldened, passionate diatribe that will make you question what you thought you knew about one of the world’s most worshipped brands.

The Mouth of the Night, Sunday 7 April, 7.45pm, The Brewery Theatre

Priscilla Queen of the Desert: The Musical

The Tobacco Factory Theatre brings the brightest stars of the storytelling constellation to the Brewery. This is a wonderfully compelling collaboration between two virtuoso performers weaving words, music and song into this multi-layered Celtic fairytale. Storyteller Richard Selby and musician Bethany Porter (cello, ukulele and voice) have recently played to sold-out audiences at the Bath International Music Festival and the Bath Folk Festival.

The Count of Monte Cristo, Tuesday 9 – Saturday 20 April, 8.15pm, The Brewery Theatre Edmund Dantes is wrongly imprisoned by his rivals. Incarcerated in Chateau d’If, a fellow prisoner assists in his escape and tells of a secret stash of treasure on a remote island. Dantes reinvents himself as the Count of Monte Cristo and sets out to reward those who had stood by him and to seek revenge on those who had him arrested. In this new adaptation from Company Boudin and directed by Andy Burden, the book is retold and re-enacted by the workers of a cigar 38 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

Direct from the West End and starring Jason Donovan, the feel-good international hit Priscilla Queen of the Desert: The Musical comes to Bristol Hippodrome for two weeks. It is the heart-warming adventure of three friends who hop aboard a battered old bus searching for love and friendship and end up finding more than they had ever dreamed of. Jason Donovan stars as Tick, the role he originated in the West End.

The Mousetrap, Monday 29 April – Saturday 4 May, 7.30pm; matinees: Wednesday & Saturday, 2.30pm To celebrate its 60 year anniversary Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap is on tour with a star cast. The scene is set when a group of people gathered in a country house cut off by the snow discover, to their horror, that there is a murderer in their midst. One-by-one the suspicious characters reveal their sordid pasts.

The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs

Comedian Dies in the Middle of Joke, Friday 26 & Saturday 27 April, 7.30pm & 9pm, The Hen & Chicken November 1983: comedian Joe Pooley is headlining his local comedy club and no one’s laughing. April 2013: with your help, his murder is reconstructed. Re-live Joe’s last set over and over and over again in this interactive piece of auto-theatre set in an 80s comedy club, devised by Time Out

The Mousetrap

Bristol Old Vic fp:Layout 6

18/3/13

12:22

Page 1

Whats On Bristol APRIL:Layout 1

20/3/13

11:23

Page 3

WHAT’Son MUS IC – listed by date RSCM Millennium Youth Choir, Thursday 4 April, 7.30pm St Mary Redcliffe Church, Redcliffe Way, Bristol. Tickets £6/£4 in advance from www.rscmmyc.org.uk or on the door Sung by the fresh young voices of the RSCM Millennium Youth Choir, this concert encompasses repertoire from the 16th century to contemporary choral music. The choir is conducted by David Ogden and accompanied by the virtuoso organist Daniel Moult.

thrilling line-up of music inspired by the sea including: Britten’s Four Sea Interludes; Bristol-based composer John Pickard’s SeaChange; Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune and his shimmering masterpiece La Mer.

Shusheela Raman, Tuesday 16 April, 7.30pm St George’s Bristol, Great George Street, Bristol. Tickets from the box office on tel: 0845 40 24 001 or visit: www.stgeorgesbristol.co.uk Heavily influenced by jazz, blues and rock, Susheela’s Tamil roots are never far away and her raw vocals convey an intensity of emotion. In this performance she brings two of her long time collaborators together, guitarist-producer Sam Mills and urban tabla virtuoso Aref Durvesh, with master musicians from Rajasthan.

RSCM Millennium Youth Choir

The Enigma Orchestra, Saturday 6 April, 7.30pm St George’s Bristol, Great George Street, Bristol. Tickets from the box office on tel: 0845 40 24 001 or visit: www.stgeorgesbristol.co.uk Riding the wave of their successful debut at St George’s in December, Enigma returns with a

40 The Bristol Magazine

| April 2013

The King’s Singers, Monday 22 April, 7.30pm St George’s Bristol, Great George Street, Bristol. Tickets from the box office on tel: 0845 40 24 001 or visit: www.stgeorgesbristol.co.uk This will be a wonderful evening of contrasts with the beautiful music of Eric Whitacre, Bob Chilcott, Morten Lauridsen, Weelkes, Striggio

and Sibelius, rounded off with the King’s Singers’ trademark arrangements of folk, jazz and popular songs. All proceeds from this concert go to the new family and children’s community centre in Ashley Road run by the Salvation Army.

Classico Latino, Thursday 25 April, 8pm Colston Hall, Bristol. Box office tel: 0117 922 3686 or visit: www.colstonhall.org Classico Latino blends the extraordinary variety of Latin American music with the beauty of the classical idiom. Visitors can expect a rousing performance with melodies and rhythms from their new album Journey Through Latin America.

Quercus, Thursday 25 April, 8pm St George’s Bristol, Great George Street, Bristol. Tickets from the box office on tel: 0845 40 24 001 or visit: www.stgeorgesbristol.co.uk Three of the UK’s internationally celebrated and award-winning musicians come together to create lyrical and mesmerising chamber music: June Tabor, Iain Ballamy and Huw Warren. The group will draw on works including original compositions and folk songs.

Bristol Poetry fp:Layout 1

19/3/13

16:16

Page 1

Whats On Bristol APRIL:Layout 1

20/3/13

10:55

Page 4

WHAT’Son OTHER EVENTS – listed by date Magic: Aldo Colombini, Friday 19 April, 8pm

Classic Car and Bike Weekend at Tyntesfield

Smoke & Mirrors Bar, 8 Denmark Street, Bristol. Tickets from £8, for more information visit: www.smokeandmirrorsbar.co.uk or tel: 0117 9290362 Two hours of great magic with international award-winning magician Aldo who brings his act to Bristol for one night only – with guest support from Jay Fortune and Wayne Fox.

Tango-y-Tu Three-Day Course, Saturday 27 April – Sunday 5 May Westmoreland Hall, Westmoreland Road, Redland, Bristol. £100 for three-day course or £40 per day. To book tel: 07767733948 or 0117 9594957, or visit: www.tango-y-tu.com This is a 15-hour course over three days, with lunches and refreshments provided. There will be a morning session from 11am-1pm, followed by lunch and an afternoon session between 2pm and 5pm – including practica.

Classic Car and Bike Weekend, Saturday 27 & Sunday 28 April, 10am – 4pm

McArthurGlen Fashion Fling, Saturday 6 – 21 April McArthurGlen’s Designer Outlet, Swindon. For further information visit: www.swindondesigneroutlet.com In partnership with Grazia magazine, McArthurGlen’s Fashion Fling event will run for a fortnight. The centre, which has 90 designer and high brands at up to 60 per cent less, including Kurt Geiger and Crew Clothing, will showcase the new season fashion and accessories which will have just arrived. There will be exclusive offers, flash sales and talks.

After Hours: CSI Harbourside, Thursday 11 April, 6.30pm – 10pm At-Bristol, Anchor Road, Harbourside, Bristol. Tickets £7 and group rates available, to book tel: 0845 345 1235 or for more information visit: www.at-bristol.org.uk/csiharbourside Harold Andyman is dead. Did he fall from his ladder? Or was he pushed...? It’s up to you and your friends to put your investigation skills to the test and work out what happened at this At-Bristol adults-only event. Analyse DNA and fibres, study bone samples and examine the suspects’ fingerprints. Weigh up all the evidence and make your conviction at the end of the night and see if everyone else agrees.

Expressions: Secret Garden, Saturday 13 – Sunday 21 April, 10.30am – 6pm Paintworks, Bath Road, Bristol. For further information visit: www.milestonestrust.org.uk/expressions Expressions, the creative arts festival run by Milestones Trust, is back for its 4th year of 42 The Bristol Magazine

| April 2013

striking installations, art and sensory stimulation. This month, the outdoors is brought inside in a fabulous landscape of interactive art. Enter the exhibition through the craft marquee, bush-whack your way through the enchanted forest of hanging trees, follow the sculpture trail, brave the graffiti tunnel and be rewarded by the beauty of the secret garden with its knitted plants. The first weekend of the festival will be packed with workshops and exhibition talks.

Tango Classes with Tango West, Monday 15 April Redland Club, Burlington Road, Bristol. Classes £8 or £40 for block of six. Email: michele@tangowest.co.uk or tel: 07981 756965 or visit: www.tangowest.co.uk Have fun learning this spirited dance with a class for absolute beginners from 7pm-8.30pm and a class for recent beginners/improvers from 8.30pm-10pm.

The Lady Boys of Bangkok, Friday 19 – Saturday 27 April, please contact for times The Sabai Pavilion, Castle Park, Bristol. To book call the box office on tel: 0871 705 0705 or visit: www.ladyboysofbangkok.co.uk Arriving in Bristol with a new show, Glamorous Amorous are The Lady Boys of Bangkok, dripping with diamante and sizzling on stage with new songs and comedy. From JLo to Whitney and even a bit of Gangnam-style, there will be flamboyant costumes, makeup and choreography. There will also be a chef on site ready to create dishes for you from the menu.

Tyntesfield, North Somerset. For further information tel: 01275 461900 or visit: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/tyntesfield Wander around, find your favourite car and maybe even get a picture behind the wheel. An array of vehicles will be descending on the estate and the Austin Healey Club will also be welcomed.

Talk: Jekka McVicar, Tuesday 30 April, 6pm for 6.30pm Bristol Grammar School, Bristol. Tickets £7, visit: www.bristolgrammarschool.co.uk/events/ literaryevents.aspx or email: lshepherd@bgs.br istol.sch.uk The queen of herbs, TV and radio broadcaster and culinary expert, Jekka McVicar (of Jekka’s Herb Farm) will give a talk entitled Herbs are More than a Garnish, chatting about the usefulness of herbs. There will also be live music and light refreshments. Book sales will be courtesy of Durdham Down Bookshop.

Grillstock Festival, Saturday 11 & Sunday 12 May Harbourside, Bristol. Tickets £10 per day or £15 per weekend. Visit: www.grillstock.co.uk The UK’s hottest barbecue and music festival is back for 2013. The heart of the festival will be King of the Grill, a two-day US-style low and slow barbecue competition with 26 teams as well as American roots music.

Charity Zumbathon, Saturday 11 & Sunday 12 May, 9am – 1pm Bristol Zoo Gardens, Clifton. Registration £12, visit: www.bristolzoo.org.uk/zumbathon Have fun, burn calories and help Bristol Zoo save lemurs by taking on this charity Zumbathon. It will be a three-hour fitness party with easy-to-follow, Latin-inspired dance and you can do as little or as much as you like.

Rock Concert fp:Layout 5

18/3/13

12:14

Page 1

P44:Layout 22

19/3/13

44 The Bristol Magazine

16:39

Page 62

April 2013

Lady Boys of Bangkok fp:Layout 1

18/3/13

12:15

Page 1

19/3/13

10:49

Page 1

Art to take home

Charles Emerson, Helleborous £450 at Antlers Gallery

ARTS AND EXHIBITIONS BRISTOL :Layout 1

THE AFFORDABLE ART FAIR Brunel’s Old Station, Bristol Temple Meads Tel: 020 8246 4848 www.affordableartfair.co.uk

26 – 28 April The Affordable Art Fair returns to Bristol’s historic Brunel’s Old Station for its 11th year. The fair will showcase a range of sculpture, prints, oil paintings, photography and etchings from hundreds of established names and emerging talents alike, all priced from £40 to £4,000. With more than 50 galleries exhibiting, there is enough choice for everyone to find something that’s right for them, at prices to suit the most modest, or generous, of budgets. Visitors can also take part in one of the artist-led workshops running during the weekend. Families are encouraged to join in the fun at the fair, where a whole host of free kids’ art activities take place in the education space every day.

P47:Layout 23

18/3/13

16:48

Page 49

“Calm Sea at Dawn, St Ives” by Judith Bridgland

“Cliff near Porthtowan” by Euan McGregor

“Off Tintagel” by Peter Wileman PROI RSWA EAGMA FRSA

The Cornish Lime Tree Gallery, 84 Hotwell Road, Bristol BS8 4UB Landscape April 13 - May15

Tel 0117 929 2527

www.limetreegallery.com www.thebristolmagazine.co.uk

April 2013

The Bristol Magazine 47

ARTS AND EXHIBITIONS BRISTOL :Layout 1

19/3/13

10:50

Page 2

ARTSgardens &EXHIBITIONS CITY SPRING EXHIBITION

David Hampton, Still Life Variation 3

Mary Dearden, Bowl

Coldharbour Framery & Gallery 111 Coldharbour Road, Westbury Park, Bristol. Tel: 0117 944 6244 www.coldharbourgallery.co.uk

Throughout April Spring brings new work from many of the regular artists, including delicate etchings by local printmaker Jacqui Watkins and zingy spiral bowls by Bristol ceramicist Mary Dearden, as well as new ranges of cards, gifts and pottery from artists further afield.

PAM BERRIDGE

Bristol Folk House 40a Park Street, Bristol. Tel: 0117 926 2987

▲

Until 2 May DAVID HAMPTON

SPRING EXHIBITION

RE Bucheli Fine Art Gallery Albion House, 12A Broad Street, Bristol. Tel: 0117 929 7747 www.rebucheli.co.uk

4 April – 4 May RE Bucheli Fine Art is delighted to present a tribute exhibition to David Hampton. This retrospective will showcase his extensive and prolific work from 1956 to the present day. To attend a private view please contact the gallery, there is also a catalogue available.

While researching the associations between photography, death and memory for her Phd in fine art practice, Pam Berridge came across the cemeteries of Paris. The sepulchres contain artefacts which serve as memento mori, both beautiful and symbolic in their decay, much in the same way as a photograph does.

DRAWN 2013 RWA Queens Road, Clifton, Bristol. Tel: 0117 973 5129 www.rwa.org.uk

Until 2 June Drawn aims to raise the profile of drawing, presenting it as both an autonomous discipline and an interdisciplinary tool. From artists who either draw, or explore the concept of drawing in their work, the show features work from illustrators, videographers, sculptors, printers, embroiderers, typographers, animators and architects. Artists have used wall and floor space using traditional and experimental techniques and technologies.

48 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

Nicholas Hely-Hutchinson, Cliff Walk in Spring

Sky Blue Framing and Gallery 27 North View, Westbury Park, Bristol. Tel: 0117 9733995 www.skybluefineart.com

Throughout April Celebrate spring with works by Nicholas Hely-Hutchinson, Michael Ogden, and atmospheric new paintings by Cath Read. Work from usual gallery favourites – Quentin Blake, John Knapp-Fisher and Susie Brooks – will also be on display.

Pam Berridge, Mementori I

View Gallery fp:Layout 9

18/3/13

12:29

Page 1

ARTS AND EXHIBITIONS BRISTOL :Layout 1

19/3/13

10:51

Page 3

▲

ARTS&EXHIBITIONS SPRING 2013 COLLECTION

THE CORNISH LANDSCAPE Lime Tree Gallery 84 Hotwell Road, Bristol. Tel: 0117 929 2527 www.limetreegallery.com

Cube Gallery 12 Perry Road, Bristol. Tel: 0117 377 1470 www.cube-gallery.co.uk

13 April – 14 May

Jack Frame, Rose Hall Series Judith Bridgland, Portheras Cove

30 April – 18 May This is an exhibition of recent paintings and sculptures by artists including: Katie Allen, Stiliana Alexieva, Susan Elliott, Jack Frame, Michelle Mckinney, Geoffrey Swindell and Helen Ward.

ALCHEMY: THE TANGO CONNECTION

Grant Bradley Gallery Number One St Peter’s Court, Bedminster Parade, Bristol. Tel: 0117 9637673 www.grantbradleygallery.co.uk

6 – 27 April This show will feature a selection of work by five artists – sculptor Sophie Howard, painters Nigel Shipley and Harriet Green, linocut artist Ivana Svabic and photographer Aaron Davies – who met through their shared love of dancing tango. The word alchemy is key: drawing on its qualities of quest and transformation, the exhibition also celebrates the artists’ own transformation through tango.

Euan McGregor, The Minack Theatre

GIANT SNAILS AND TINY LIONS View Art Gallery 159-161 Hotwell Road, Bristol. Tel: 05603 116753. www.viewartgallery.co.uk

Three very different artists feature in an exhibition which celebrates one of Britain’s most beautiful and popular landscapes – the Cornish coast. It is always fascinating to see similar subject matter through the eyes of different painters. In this case, three artists who have never met, yet who all approach their painting through an understanding of space, light and colour. Judith Bridgland’s powerful and dramatic landscapes have been widely collected for some years, and her painting journey around the Cornish coast follows her hugely successful Welsh tour of 2012. Peter Wileman is one of the UK’s most renowned marine artists, and here shows another side to his powers with a series of semi-abstract works, demonstrating his versatility and command of the true painterly skills. Euan McGregor, although very much a Scot, has always been inspired by the St Ives school, so he jumped at the chance to visit Cornwall, and to show his vision of both the coast and the often derelict, industrial landscapes of the county.

SO WHAT COLLECTIVE Guild Gallery 68/70 Park Street, Bristol. Tel: 0117 926 5548 www.bristolguild.co.uk

Until 12 May Giant Snails and Tiny Lions features work from both new and old faces to View and a wide range of media. Prepare to be introduced to unnerving differences in scale by realist artist Stephen Lovatt, childhood confusions in Valda Jackson’s sculptures and moving narratives by Fran Williams. As many of the artists use human experience as the inspiration behind their work, everyday dilemmas faced throughout life will be a consistent theme, albeit in unusual circumstances.

COMING SOON: UPFEST Various venues and spaces Bedminster, Bristol. www.upfest.co.uk

25 – 27 May Hundreds of urban artists will descend on Bedminster for Upfest 2013. This free bank holiday weekend festival invites you to see world-class painters and illustrators at work, painting 20,000sqft of surfaces including a New York subway train, alongside music stages, pop-up cafés and street parties – with new sponser, POSCA.

50 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

Chris Cook, Pooles Wharf

20 April – 11 May

Stephen Lovatt, Apotheosis

This is a welcome return for artists who met as students at Bristol School of Art, who share inspiration and explorations, diverse and successful shows which include paintings, textiles, glass, paper-cutting and photography.

P51:Layout 23

19/3/13

12:13

Page 49

Red coat and Church Steeples. Artist: J P McLaughlin

Over 7000 Original Artworks available to buy online UK Based Artists • Free UK Delivery 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed Commissions Welcome We offer 10 months interest free credit* through Arts Council England's Own Art interest free loan scheme. You can purchase any artwork on the site between £100 - £2000 and spread the cost over 10 monthly instalments Contact: Michelle Gibbs sales@art2arts.co.uk 023 92699 990

www.art2arts.co.uk

Sir James Galway hits the right note! Painted by Beryl Cook (1926 - 2008) famous for her paintings of larger than life figures, this oil on panel entitled ‘Applause’ depicts Sir James Galway receiving exactly that during a concert in Plymouth. The painting was consigned by a Vendor based in the North West of England who had assiduously followed Clevedon Salerooms unmatched UK success with the sale of original works by Beryl Cook. Estimated at £12,000 - £18,000 at their recent Specialist Sale the picture exceeded all expectations with the winning bidder paying £30,400 for the right to take Sir James Galway home!

Fine Art Auctioneers & Valuers

£30,400

If you would like Clevedon Salerooms to offer your antiques and works of art to the widest possible audience to achieve the highest possible price telephone them speak to a valuer on 01934 830111 or visit the Salerooms on one of their FREE VALUATION DAYS.

www.thebristolmagazine.co.uk

The Auction Centre Kenn Road, Kenn,Clevedon, BS21 6TT Tel: 01934 830111 www.clevedon-salerooms.com

Free Valuation Days 8, 9, 10, & 22, 23, 24 April 9.30am - 1pm & 2pm - 5.30pm at the Salerooms

April 2013

The Bristol Magazine 51

st Mary Redcliffe:Layout 3

20/3/13

09:45

Page 1

CITYarchive

The day the Mayoress climbed St Mary’s spire The magnificent St Mary Redcliffe is Bristol’s tallest building and a striking landmark. Georgette McCready delves into the accounts of an extraordinary ceremony held at the church in Victorian times

first heard this story from a local guide a few years ago, but didn’t really believe all the details of what sounded like a frankly tall tale from Victorian times. Could the Mayoress of Bristol, in full crinolines, really have volunteered to clamber to the very top of St Mary Redcliffe’s spire on a ladder while a crowd of thousands watched from below? It’s hard to imagine in our times of health and safety. I am indebted to the church’s archives which revealed that this story is fact, as taken from an account of the time in The Bristol Times and Mirror of 11 May 1872. The church, which dates back to the 12th century, was hit by lightning in 1446, bringing the spire crashing down. And so the building, looking a little stumpier than originally intended, stood spireless for four centuries. From 1840 restoration work began on the building and the money raised to erect a new spire, to be 292 feet tall. It still remains the tallest building in Bristol to this day. On the day of the capping out ceremony The Mayor of Bristol, Mr W Proctor Baker and his wife, the Mayoress, accompanied by members of the clergy and a group of their friends arrived at the site, where the spire was clad still by a series of wooden ladders and scaffolding. Flags adorned the highest scaffold poles and neighbouring tradespeople hung bunting out of their windows. The paper writes: ‘a vast crowd of people assembled in Redcliffe Street, Phippen Street, and everywhere in the neighbourhood where a view of the proceedings could be obtained, and a considerable number of spectators mustered oil the housetops, and in the windows of the surrounding buildings.’ 52 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

There was great excitement when the crowd realised that the Mayoress intended to go up the spire with her husband. But just before they were about to start the ceremony there was a heavy shower of rain, with lightning and thunder. Some took this as a bad omen, but the Mayor and Mayoress sought shelter in the church until the storm was over.

SENSE OF OCCASION: main picture, St Mary Redcliffe Church today, with its Victorian spire

The Mayoress skipped along the planks ❝ and about the scaffolding with as much composure as if she had been walking about her own drawing room

❞

Once the rain stopped the Mayor and Mayoress took their seats in a hoist accompanied by Mr W Rice, the clerk of the building works. The pair looked surprisingly unruffled as they were lifted aloft, the Mayor doffing his hat to the delight of the cheering crowds and the Mayoress appearing serene. Once they reached the first stage, at a height of 160 feet they were faced with a second hoist, worked by hand. The newspaper records: ‘It was merely two square boards, one overhead and the other under foot, like the top and bottom of a box, with a rope at each corner, covered on three sides with drapery. Into this the Mayoress got, and was hoisted by the workmen to the top of the spire. Workmen were stationed at different points to prevent it from swinging too much. ‘His Worship, however, showed his pluck and disdain of the arrangements by boldly mounting the ladders, and he was not

st Mary Redcliffe:Layout 3

18/3/13

13:44

Page 2

CITYarchive long in reaching the top.’ The worshipful couple were then joined by the Rev Canon Randall, with his churchwardens, Mr Hare and Mervyn King, a curate the Rev F Auchmuty and Mr Edmund King. At the top the party were met by the Rev AC Anstey and Mr A Baker, who had climbed the ladders attached almost perpendicularly to the spire. These last two, the Mayor and Mervyn King were the only people who used the ladders, the rest preferring to be hoisted. The party having been safely deposited at the top the Mayor and Mayoress set the 12ft square cap stone of Portland stone with cement using a silver trowel which the church still displays today. After the capping out the men on the spire cheered and raised their caps, swiftly followed by the crowd below. They each then took it in turn to stand on the cap stone and enjoy the view until rain came down so heavily they decided it was time to return to earth. It was noted: ‘The Mayoress skipped along the planks and about the scaffolding with as much composure as if she had been walking about her own drawing room, and she never betrayed the slightest symptom of fear or misgiving. His Worship came down the ladders, but most of the others by the hoist. Loud were the cheers and warm the salutations of friends when the Mayor and Mayoress once more reached terra firma, and the church bells rang out a merry peal.’ The Canynges Society met on 26 May 1872 when Canon HG Randall, quoted the following: “The Mayor and the Vicar ascended the spire Lifted up to the top stone they could not mount higher, “More money we want!” cried the Mayor like a hero – “Amen” said the vicar, “Dum spiro spero.’’ ’ (while I breathe, I hope).

www.thebristolmagazine.co.uk

A SPECTACLE: left the spire swathed in scaffolding in a photograph from 1872, and, above, the fashion of the time

● The latest ceremony, on 25 February 2013, at St Mary Redcliffe saw the installation of a new eighth bell weighing three quarters of a ton, which was hoisted into place to replace a poor quality bell which was cast in the 18th century. Passers-by with a keen ear can hear the difference every quarter of an hour, when a dull clunk has been replaced with a tuneful ring.

April 2013

The Bristol Magazine 53

James on....:Layout 4

20/3/13

18:02

Page 1

CITYregeneration

The magic roundabout An unpromising stretch of concrete in Bristol city that’s been avoided by pedestrians for years, is finally flourishing as a space for good food, art and a chance for people to meet. James Russell visits the Bearpit

egeneration takes many forms, from the building of the Olympic Village to the creation of an arts centre in the shell of an abandoned factory. Mayor George Ferguson transformed south Bristol when he opened the Tobacco Factory, and he is a keen supporter of a new project which is slowly turning a notorious corner of the city centre into a unique outdoor attraction. One day we may all be talking about the Bearpit. It all began in the heady days of the 1960s, when cities were radically redesigned to make room for growing numbers of cars. In Bristol the M32 was built to bring traffic into the city, and the roads to the north and east of Broadmead were widened, so you could whizz from Temple Meads to Gloucester Road in a jiffy. The problem with all this engineering was that it didn’t properly take into account the needs of pedestrians; people walking between the city centre and Stokes Croft were provided with the Bearpit – essentially a sunken area in the middle of the St James Barton Roundabout, accessed via stairs and ramps from several directions. As with so many large-scale traffic-focused designs, it ignored the real human experience of descending stairs and walking through tunnels, especially in the dark, and before long the Bearpit became a place to avoid or to scuttle through fast. Stokes Croft suffered as a consequence and is only now enjoying a gradual renaissance. That renaissance spread to the underpass with the formation last year of the Bearpit Improvement Group (BIG), with director Henry Shaftoe of UWE as director. One of the first steps was to

54 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

encourage traders to set up stalls in the middle, a task undertaken by fundraising head Robin Halpenny; a fruit and veg stall opened in April last year, closely followed by a coffee stall. Tina Hart, a former pub manager who took on the running of the greengrocer’s stall and now also manages trading on the site, says that at first it was a challenge just to get people to acknowledge her existence. She said: “For the first month no one would even look up. It mostly seemed to be old ladies going to and from the bus station, and they all hurried past. Then after a few weeks one or two of them stopped to say ‘well done’, and that was the turning point. Since then we’ve got steadily busier.” On a sunny, albeit chilly, weekday lunchtime a steady flow of people crosses the Bearpit, quite a few stopping to buy fruit or coffee, eat at Ultimo Taco or shop at one of the stalls selling jewellery, T-shirts, prints or west country cheese. A year after the BIG first made the news this is still early days, but the upward trajectory of the project is clear to see. In November two shiny blue shipping containers were lowered in. One now houses an art gallery, the other is home to Bear Fruit (Tina’s greengrocery) and the Bearpit Social, a café run by Miriam Delogu. Designed to open fully from the side the containers make perfect stalls, and when locked up they have the beauty of anonymity. Later this year Bear Fruit is set to expand when the café leaves the container and moves into a double-decker bus, which is currently being converted. Some time this summer the bus will also be lowered into the Bearpit, which should provide some heart-stopping moments. By then the power, water and sewerage will all have been sorted out, and the Bearpit will be a

FESTIVAL SPIRIT: main picture, there is now funding for the planting of trees in the Bearpit to create a greener space Clockwise from top right: the fruit and veg stall which shares a shipping container with the Bearpit Social café shoppers can buy food, clothes or gifts at the Bearpit market, and the Ultimate Taco stall does brisk business in freshly prepared hot food PICTURES: James Arthur Allen, visit: www.jamesarthurall en.co.uk

James on....:Layout 4

19/3/13

12:10

Page 2

CITYregeneration inspirational landscaping charity ❝ Groundwork is unleashing its volunteers, with £2,000 to plant fruit trees and otherwise make the Bearpit vibrant and green

❞

A SPLASH OF COLOUR: Mike Squires runs a flower stall, Bristol Bouquets, at the Bearpit

step closer to becoming a sort of permanent festival site. Given the chequered history of the Bearpit and the fact that it is in the middle of a roundabout, it might come as a surprise to learn that this is a pleasant place to relax and chat, and for musicians and other performers to do their thing. When we visited someone was playing the accordian in a subway, the music drifting among the stalls. Tina would like to see at least part of the site covered over, allowing music and stage performances. “Or even better,” she says, “cover the whole thing with a dome – like the Eden Project. Already we get all sorts of musicians and people, nothing official, just random sporadic acts of creativity. Last week a Balkan band came along and played to promote their gig, and then four people turned up, all on the same bike, making some kind of statement…”

www.thebristolmagazine.co.uk

This grassroots activity is supported by a number of small, but carefully considered, grant-funded projects. A consultation project last year identified the relative lack of greenery as an issue of concern to passers-by, and over the coming months the inspirational landscaping charity Groundwork is unleashing its volunteers, with £2,000 to plant fruit trees and otherwise make the Bearpit vibrant and green. The BIG has also secured £1,500 from the Creative Seed Fund to run a photo competition. Given as their subject Beauty and the Bearpit, entrants will only be allowed to take photos within the space itself; 16 winners will then be picked and their photos printed A0 size (ie fairly huge) before being displayed on exhibition stands. Art has already played an important part in the regeneration of the area, with the Arts Council providing funding for the creation and upkeep of murals. So far, then, the Bearpit has proved a model of regeneration taken a step at a time, the facilities and infrastructure gradually improving as demand increases. But what happens next? Bristol City Council has pledged £1m for more substantial improvements, and debate is ongoing between officials and the BIG as to what to do. Let’s hope they keep moving carefully, preserving the strange but rather wonderful character of this unusual manmade place. ■ Visit: www.the-bear-pit.org.uk. Stalls open Tues-Sat, weather permitting.

April 2013

The Bristol Magazine 55

food and drink April:Layout 2

20/3/13

18:25

Page 1

FOOD&DRINK

Quick bites ■ Bristol’s Community Farm beside Chew Valley Lake has won the contract to supply fresh, seasonal produce to Hugh Fearney Whittingstall’s new River Cottage Canteen in Whiteladies Road. The farm already supplies some 400 households in the Bristol area with weekly organic veg boxes and fruit boxes to local businesses for their staff. Booking are being taken for workshops on the farm, including propagation techniques for growing organic vegetables (13 April) and an introduction to permaculture (20/21 April). Call Emily, tel: 0117 364 3123. ■ Residents of Southville and theatre goers wil be pleased to hear that the Thali Café is to open a new restaurant in the Tobacco Factory, in what was Teoh’s. This is the city’s fifth Thali Café, whose healthy, delicious and inexpensive range of dishes has a loyal base of fans. ■ Café, deli and cookery school, Papadeli in Alma Road is hosting a series of wine tasting evenings with wine expert Raj Soni of RS Wines. April’s event centres on the wines of Burgundy, while June’s tasting travels down to sample the wines of north eastern Spain. There are more courses in September, November and at the beginning of December. Tickets are from £35 to include lots of Papadeli food to accompany the wine. Email: info@papadeli.co.uk or tel: 0117 973 6569 for tickets – which can be bought as gift vouchers for the wine enthusiast in your life. ■ Congratulations to Bristol’s own Pieminister, which is celebrating ten years in the business of feeding the nation on its wholesome, tasty British pies from its café in Stokes Croft and kitchens in Westbury-on-Trym.

56 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

Clifton favourite on awards shortlist No sooner than glasses were raised at The Muset in Clifton at being awarded two AA rosettes, than the team, led by front-of-house Jonathan Bowker and head chef Jethro Lawrence, heard that the restaurant has been shortlisted to represent the south west region in the annual Good Food Guide awards. Now it is up to us, the diners, to cast our votes so this independently owned Bristol restaurant can go through to the national final. The Muset is one of only four in the region to make the shortlist. Its rivals are: Gordon Menu Jones in Bath, The Seahorse in Dartmouth and The Hasletown Inn, St Ives. We have until 14 April to vote for our favourite independent restaurant. The awards are run annually to find the UK’s favourite restaurant, as nominated by the general public. The Good Food Guide’s Restaurant of the Year awards champion local eateries and recognise great food and good service, with the criteria that restaurants must be independently run and offer regional or local produce where possible. Last year some 44,500 diners nominated their favourite restaurants, pubs and cafés from around the UK. The judges then crowned Van Zeller of Harrogate, Yorkshire as the overall winner. POPULAR: Jonathan Bowker of The Muset To vote visit: www.thegoodfoodguide.co.uk. ■

It’s going to be a summer of foodie festivals The annual meat and music festival that is Grillstock will be smokin’ hot again in Bristol city centre this May, with master of ceremonies Dr BBQ, aka Ray Lampe, presiding over the judges for who can cook up the best barbie dishes. Grillstock will be at the Harbourside over the weekend of 11/12 May with entertainment including the chill-eating contest, the King of the Grill competition and music from Tennessee born Valerie June and fellow Americana roots musicians Kitty, Daisy & Lewis. Tickets are £10 per day or £15 for the whole weekend, via the Grillstock website: www.grillstock.co.uk. Organisers of the second Eat, Drink Bristol Fashion will be keeping their fingers crossed that the weather is drier and warmer than it was for the inaugural

feasting event launched last year in Queen Square. This year’s popup restaurant and kitchens, housed in picturesque tipis, will be open lunchtime and evenings to diners from 13 to 27 May, with chefs from all over the city

taking part in a series of culinary events. Tickets are on sale now, with places at the restaurant limited to 100. Those taking part include: Bell’s Diner, Casamia, the Pony and Trap at Chew Magna, The Star and Dove at Totterdown, Harvey Nichols’ restaurant, The Pump House and Wilks restaurant. There will also be a more informal tapas café for up to 300 people, two bars and live music from a variety of acts. Visit: www.eatdrinkbristolfashion .co.uk, as events are still unfolding. Josh Eggleton, head chef at the Pony and Trap and one of the founders of the food lovers’ festival, said: “The aim is once again to showcase Bristol’s thriving food scene in one spectacular setting. We want to show the rest of the country what we’re up to here in Bristol.”

P57:Layout 23

18/3/13

16:47

www.thebristolmagazine.co.uk

Page 49

April 2013

The Bristol Magazine 57

eating out Bristol:Layout 3

20/3/13

18:23

Page 1

The Bird Table 124 Coldharbour Road, Redland BS6 7SL. Tel: 0117 909 7035

REVIEW

A touch of Aussie sunshine B

y day visitors to The Bird Table include local shoppers and Westbury Park residents in search of decent coffee, cake or a freshly made flatbread. Mums come in twos and threes with their pushchairs, their little ones enjoying child-sized portions of favourites such as beans on toast and a glass of juice. But by night, when darkness falls, the daytime café transforms into a relaxed, unpretentious restaurant with a more adult vibe, gentle music and candlelight. Owner Joe Jewel has brought in an exciting young Australian chef, Mark Chapman who is busy bringing his own style of seasonal, delicious but very healthy food to the local scene. This is Mark’s first trip out of his native Australia and he is clearly enjoying the experience of where two cultures meet and where they differ. Some of his dishes, as a result, are based on tradition, while others he has tried something new and refreshing. The menu is kept short so most dishes can be cooked from fresh. Starters range between £4.50 for soup of the day – a smooth subtle sweet potato, roasted garlic and thyme the evening we visited – to £6.95 for a seasonal wood pigeon breast served with fruit paste, pistachio puree and orange tapioca pearls. I began with a pretty pink mound of cubes of two kinds of beetroot, which had been baked in a salt crust to retain its earthy flavour, tumbled with bulgur wheat and studded with creamy goats cheese and crunchy walnuts – a winning combination of textures and taste. You could also order this as a very healthy main course at lunchtime. We had wondered about John’s choice of starter, crab salad on a bed of cauliflower crumbs served with turnip crisps. Would the flavours work together? What was the crazy Aussie thinking of? But Mark was right. An intensely savoury dish, the cauli, mixed with a shallot, chive and soy dressing, went very well with the rich crab, some avocado mousse and the crunchy crisps. Every dish we ate had visual appeal, which is always a good thing in my book. My main course arrived looking colourful on a square white plate, the tender duck breast placed, sliced in the centre and just the right side of pink, surrounded by an artistic arrangement of pale green bok choy leaves, al dente carrots, a sweet carrot relish with halved almonds and a very regal purple purée of orange, carrot and, again the superfood of our times, beetroot. There were also chunks of turnip, which I confess is not one of my favourite veg, with memories of childhood stews, but I 58 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

was impressed by the rest of the combination of ingredients. Main courses are priced between £10.95 and £14.95. John said the slow braised ox cheek with mashed potato and broccoli was perfectly cooked, the ultimate homely comfort dish, very simple but well executed. We both felt well nourished and that we’d easily exceeded our five-a-day quota. We enjoyed a bottle of crisp, chilled Pinot Grigio with our dinner and the chance to be able to sit back and chat while also having a nose around the artwork on the walls, which is all for sale. Another time, and if we do get a summer this year, we may opt to sit in the sunny back garden where Joe likes to grow herbs for use in the kitchen. Just because we have had healthy food so far doesn’t mean we can’t indulge in a bit of naughty but nice to round off our meal. I’ve heard tell that the daytime cakes are very fine, and judging by the chocolate pudding that I had, someone has a very light touch. It smelt gorgeously of chocolate, and looked good too, warm and dark with the vanilla ice cream melting in rather a sexy way down the pudding. Once broken open with my spoon, the gooey warm fondant centre oozed out. Oh, fellow chocolatiers need I say more?

HEALTHY APPROACH: main picture, the garden behind The Bird Table on sunny days is a delightful spot Right, breast of duck and the beetroot and goats’ cheese salad

tender duck breast, placed sliced in the ❝ centre and just the right side of pink, surrounded by an artistic arrangement . . . and a very regal purple purée of orange, carrot and beetroot

❞

The man without a sweet tooth opted for the cheeseboard. This comprised a slice of just-right Stilton and one of Brie, accompanied with crackers and fresh apple and fig slices. Mark dared John to try a combination that’s popular in Australia, namely cheese and honeycomb. The man without a sweet tooth did not demure but got stuck in and found it to be a suprisingly good match, just a little dab of sweetness enhancing the savoury. Let’s hope Mr Chapman continues to enjoy his culinary adventures in Bristol, so we may be able to enjoy them too. ■ GMc

P59:Layout 23

18/3/13

16:47

Page 49

2 Courses for ÂŁ10 including a glass of wine at Bristolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s award winning restaurant

12-16 Cli on Road, Cli on, Bristol, BS8 1AF. T: 0117 973 7248 â&#x20AC;˘ e: eat@themuset.com

w: www.themuset.com

Twi er @TheMuset â&#x20AC;˘ Facebook: The Muset

www.thebristolmagazine.co.uk

AA Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence

April 2013

The Bristol Magazine 59

beer cocktails V1:Layout 1

21/3/13

14:59

Page 1

FOOD&DRINK PICTURES: Mohammed Miah (Absey) the Abstract Photographer

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

It’s all in the mix

CALLED TO THE BAR: main picture, the winner, Chelsie Bailey pictured with the judges. Right, one of the contestants, Elsa, mixing her cocktail

Bristol’s historic Harveys bar was the venue for the regional heat of a fiercely competitive cocktail making competition, with bartenders battling it out for the chance of a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Japan

hey’re calling it the Bartender’s Beer as it’s the brand favoured by mixologists after a long evening’s cocktail making. And to bring that message to the nation’s bar staff Asahi Super Dry lager is hosting a UK-wide competition to find the best cocktail maker. One of the regional heats was held in Bristol’s historic Harveys cellar, home of the famous sherry, but it was lager everyone was supping on this occasion as four mixologists took to the spotlight to make their own recipes, before being judged by a panel of experts. Asahi Super Dry lager is the current No 1 beer brand in Japan, known for its clean, crisp and refreshing taste. It is brewed to an authentic Japanese recipe, which was exported to the UK in 1995. The bartenders were competing to go through to the national final, being held in London. The first prize is a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Tokyo for the winner. They faced a tough panel of judges: Stuart Fritz, bar manager of the London Academy of Bartenders, Mark Smalley of Drinks Revolution cocktail consultancy, Salvatore Damiano, bar manager of the Captain’s Club Hotel in Christchurch and vice chairman for the UKBG south area, and Chris Chisholme, cocktail trainer and head barman of the Koh restaurant group. Each of the competitors took to the centre of Harveys’ cocktail bar where, under the bright lights and intensive gaze of the audience and judges, they proceeded to mix their drinks. They had to talk through the ingredients they had chosen and the methodology. The four contestants were; Elsa Holmberg from the Brass Monkey in Nottingham, Chelsie Bailey from the Rummer Hotel in Bristol, Hassan Mugambw from the Captain’s Club in Christchurch and Thomas Quy, also from the Captain’s Club in Christchurch. And, after some debate, Bristol’s own Chelsie Bailey was declared the winner. She will now go on to the London finals of the contest to compete for the trip to Japan. Asahi Super Dry lager is brewed by the Shepherd Neame brewery of Kent and won the Champion Beer award in the 2011 Brewing Industry awards, Keg Lager division. ■

60 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

Chelsie Bailey’s winning cocktail: The Exchange Student 25ml three-year-old Somerset Cider Brandy 12.5ml red berry, hibiscus and Lapsang Souchong syrup 10ml lemon juice Stir the ingredients & strain into a Japanese teapot and top with 50ml Asahi Dry Chelsie is a cocktail maker and creator at the popular Rummer. Here she talks about how she came up with the drink that impressed the judges: “So when I first got given the rules for the competition, I tried to use the brand history, the country of origin and the taste of the product to start the initial ideas. As there were no limitations about which spirit you could use it was slightly overwhelming. So I started to look into Japanese bartending style. Their cocktails are very precise, elegant, delicate and the tools they use are beautiful and fairly extravagant – the complete opposite of myself as a bartender. So I wanted to have some fun and make a cocktail with something local to Bristol that has a Japanese influence. My first ingredient was the Somerset cider brandy, which is fairly local to Bristol, and it dawned on me that using cider and lager together I was halfway to a posh snakebite. So a berry syrup was needed to marry the Asahi and the cider brandy and this is where I decided to use a red berry and hibiscus syrup. It’s incredibly sweet and fruity so I added a small amount of Lapsang Souchong tea to give it a slightly smoky edge, this also worked really well with the oak flavours of the cider brandy. I added some lemon juice to cut through and balance the sweetness of the syrup and also to complement the lemony citrus notes of the Asahi. When this was all stirred, I used a Japanese teapot as my Japanese influence to strain it into and finally topped it off with the Asahi Dry lager. It was named The Exchange Student because only students ever drink snakebites and with international products being used that seemed an appropriate name for the finished drink.”

P61:Layout 23

19/3/13

16:37

Page 49

Opening on the 28th March @ 220 North Street Southville info @zazuskitchen.co.uk for enquiries and bookings

225 Gloucester Road, Bishopston, Bristol, BS7 8NR info@zazuskitchen.co.uk 0117 944 5500

www.thebristolmagazine.co.uk

April 2013

The Bristol Magazine 61

Inside Japan:Layout 4

18/3/13

13:36

Page 1

BUSINESSprofile

From the south west to the far east Bethany Wivell meets Simon King and Alastair Donnelly, the duo who set up Inside Japan Tours, an awardwinning travel firm in Bristol, organising holidays to Japan

decade ago a pair of Oxford graduates packed their bags and headed up into the Japanese mountains to teach English. Three years later they returned home masters of chopsticks, fluent in Japanese and owners of a new business idea – Inside Japan Tours. Simon King and Alastair Donnelley are gurus of the Japanese travel market and are renowned for offering specialist holiday tours in the Far East. Winners of the 2011 Independent British Travel Award and 2010 Guardian Best Tour Operator trophy, they are the hottest thing since wasabi. Inside Japan Tours offers something that other travel agencies don’t – all of the staff have lived or worked in Japan and they all speak Japanese. This language skill has proven integral to their success and has enabled them to build giant bridges between their office in Bristol and their team in Nagoya, central Japan. Simon said: “By speaking Japanese we are able to build authentic relationships with hotels, restaurants and tour guides all over Japan, so we really do know what we’re recommending. It also means we’re able to take people beyond the normal tourist hotspots and show them the ultimate inside Japan experience.” Most of us can name a handful of things that we’d associate with Japan – technology, geishas, anime and let’s not forget the fabulous food. However, do we really know what lies beyond the global brands? I asked Simon what must-dos are on the top of his list: “Staying in a ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn, is definitely something I’d recommend to anyone looking to immerse themselves in local culture. “Taking a hot spring bath nestled within the gardens is a popular choice as well as signing up to a cookery course where you can learn how to make spring rolls, sushi and noodles. Above all though, I’d recommend visiting the old imperial capital, Kyoto.” Kyoto is a World Heritage Site and a city full of hidden gems. Home to vermillion temples, the sacred tea ceremony, three 62 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

imperial palaces and countless ancient festivals, it’s easy to see why Simon calls it ‘the most fascinating of Asian cities.’ Having recently marked the second anniversary of the 11 March tsunami, the most powerful earthquake to ever hit Japan that caused devastation across the entire country, I wondered whether that fascination has suffered much of a downturn over recent years. “The events of 11 March were catastrophic and the country suffered a triple disaster. All travel in and out of Japan shut down for a month as the country tried to come to terms with what had happened, but they have recovered well and this year we expect to see the number of UK departures to Japan return to normal.”

Japan gets through 24 billion ❝ pairs of disposable chopsticks a year – that’s an astonishing 185 pairs per person

❞

With the country so close to their hearts, the Inside Japan team tries to do everything they can to support local businesses and help rebuild the affected areas. In 2011, the team ran the Bristol half marathon to raise money for the disaster fund and led a team of volunteers, made up of staff and tourists, to help repair the damage in Japan. Simon said: “Five out of a possible six members of our staff in Japan are Japanese and we recommend independent hotels and services wherever we can, to help support smaller businesses. We’ve also recently launched a My Chopsticks campaign to help reduce their environmental damage.” Japan gets through 24 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks (or waribashi, if you want to pick up some lingo) a year. That’s an astonishing 185 pairs per person. So it’s no surprise to hear that

ICONIC SIGHTS: geishas and ornate buildings, such as Matsumoto Castle attract visitors from the UK

Inside Japan:Layout 4

19/3/13

12:40

Page 2

BUSINESSprofile

ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCES: left, cherry blossom season in Japan is a time for celebration Right, taste authentic Japanese cuisine

Simon would expect the average holidaymaker to get through at least 24 pairs over the course of a two-week trip. By providing each customer with their own pair of reusable chopsticks, Inside Japan Tours hopes they can help to reduce that wasteful statistic and make a small difference to a huge environmental problem. Having successfully built up an unshakeable reputation for eastern cultural tours, Inside Japan has decided to expand and in January, they launched a sister company, Inside Vietnam Tours. Using their existing business model and offering the same expert advice, inside knowledge and local connections, Inside Vietnam allow tourists to get beneath the surface of this up-andcoming country. Their first group tour left for Vietnam in March and Simon hopes this is the first of many trips to this relatively undiscovered country. He said: “Vietnam has always been on the

backpacker circuit but its perception is changing and there are a lot more opportunities for tourists today which are helping to make the country more accessible.” Inside Vietnam Tours will tailor the holiday to suit you, so if you want private cars and luxury hotels, they’ll do it. If you want beach huts and street food, consider it done. With the number of beautiful beaches, boat trips and jungle treks on offer, you certainly won’t be at a loss for activities while you’re out there. As we enter the Year of Friendship between Japan and Vietnam, the staff at Inside Tours are hoping you’ll become friends of theirs too. With their complimentary ‘thanks for booking’ lunch, what’s not to like? But don’t worry, if you can’t fit in a trip this year, Simon tells me MeSushi’s home delivery is pretty good. ■

Quality Furniture at FANTASTIC PRICES

Oslo sofa from £1399 Oslo recliner chair from £1339

FURNISHERS OF DISTINCTION FOR OVER 97 YEARS

15-18 LONDON STREET • WALCOT • BATH • 01225 465 757

www.trhayes.co.uk

• FREE DELIVERY IN BRISTOL • FREE CUSTOMER CAR PARK •

www.thebristolmagazine.co.uk

April 2013

The Bristol Magazine 63

Bristol bus April:Layout 1

19/3/13

17:45

Page 1

BRISTOLpeople

News in brief ■ Thornbury-based wealth management company Charterbridge Private Financial Planning is to donate £250 to help the local cash-strapped Citizens’ Advice Bureau. It has also offered to donate 10 per cent of every initial fee charged to clients who quote CAB when booking a lifestyle financial plan before July. Founder Allan Bullock, pictured, who ran a senior partner practice with Cirencester-based St James’s Place for 17 years said: “We are delighted to be making this initial donation in recognition of the excellent work it does, which is so very much needed in the current cycle of the economic recovery. We are also hopeful that with our pledge to give 10 per cent of our on-going initial consultation fees, we will be able to give even more, and help the CAB reach its target of £12,000 by June.” ■ Wessex Garages on Feeder Road in Bristol has chosen Macmillan Cancer Support as its Charity of the Year. A variety of fundraising events is planned, including a dragon boat race in September against its sister outlet Pennywell Road. Chris Fortune, general manager at Wessex Garages, said: “We will be holding a Macmillan weekend every second Friday and Saturday of the month. We will be decking out the dealership with the charity’s branding and making a donation of £5 for every car we sell.” ■ One of Bristol’s oldest drama groups, the Bristol Amateur Operatic Society, is putting on Chess the musical at The Redgrave Theatre, Clifton, from 30 April to 4 May. Tickets for the show, which includes hit songs such as One Night In Bangkok and I Know Him So Well, are from £12.50, with an opening night offer of £11. Visit: www. ticketsource.co.uk/baosbristol, or tel: 07927 382 668.

64 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

Women prove they mean business An organisation which encourages women to take up business franchises held its first regional meeting in Bristol. EWIF (Encouraging Women Into Franchising) was founded by Clive Sawyer in 2008 but, last year, he handed the reins to Louise Harris from Wilkins Chimney Sweep and Louise Bruce from Big Red Box PR. A website has been launched, with a newsletter and an awards ceremony which is now accepting entries. Membership is at an all-time high and applications to sponsor the awards were over-subscribed. Louise said: “We have a

fantastic team behind us, working really hard organising the regional meetings, the awards, the marketing and the newsletter without whom EWIF simply wouldn’t exist. Seeing

membership numbers rise is the best reward we could ask for.” The awards ceremony in London will take place on 16 May. Visit: www.ewif.org for more details.

Pill popping habit

WHEELY GOOD: impressionist Jon Culshaw, TV presenter Eric Knowles and Frank Colzie, who set up his business with help from The Prince’s Trust

Seeing red for charity The youth charity the Prince’s Trust turned Clifton College red for a charity dinner that raised tens of thousands of pounds to help young people into jobs, in a city where more than one in four young people are struggling to find work. The venue was decked out in red and the 200 guests were asked to wear something scarlet. Soul singer Beverley Knight sang and impressionist Jon Culshaw acted as host. To complete the red theme, the Mayor of Bristol, George Ferguson, auctioned his famous red trousers. The auction was conducted by BBC’s Antiques Roadshow host, Eric Knowles. Other prizes included a week on board Queen Mary II and a culinary experience for eight with private chef Tom Green. The event was sponsored by RBS Corporate, Longleat Enterprises and Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd with all proceeds going directly to The Prince’s Trust. Clifton College donated the use of its listed buildings to host the evening.

Almost a quarter of people in the south west who use medication to ease pain are concerned about their dependency on the drugs to go about their daily life, with 31 per cent saying they need painkillers to be able to work. The same number said they have been taking painkillers for more than five years – the highest number in the UK, according to results of a study by Nuffield Health, healthcare charity. The figures are a snapshot of painkiller use across the UK, showing frequent and long term use of potentially addictive drugs to be commonplace. Consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Nuffield Heath Bristol Hospital, Mr Jonathan Webb, said: “A lack of knowledge, or fear about treatment can lead some patients into long term use of painkillers, often without a clear diagnosis by a specialist. With advances in medicine there are many new treatment options available and it is important that patients explore these options fully. Surgery, injections, physiotherapy or even an exercise programme may be more appropriate.”

Keep on running . . .

Congratulations to Troy Budd, Paul Kingston and Philip Stolworthy of Clifton Estate Agents who all ran in the Bath Half marathon to raise funds for Penny Brohn Cancer care. The trio has raised more than £400. There is still time to contribute to the just giving website: www.justgiving .com/TeamCliftonsEstateAgents.

Irwin Mitchel fp:Layout 4

18/3/13

12:15

Page 1

AV Bristol fp:Layout 1

20/3/13

14:42

Page 1

P67:Layout 23

19/3/13

18:15

Page 49

SPRING SEASON ‘FASHION FLING’ LAUNCHES AT McARTHURGLEN’S SWINDON For fashion savvy shoppers who want to flirt with hot off the runway spring trends, McArthurGlen’s Fashion Fling is the must-visit style event of the season. Saturday 6th April marks the nationwide launch of Fashion Fling at McArthurGlen Designer Outlets across the UK, including Swindon Designer Outlet [www.swindondesigneroutlet.com]. The centre boasts 90 designer and high brands at up to 60% less, including Kurt Geiger and Crew Clothing, and is the must-visit shopping destination for men, women, and children who want to keep up with the latest fashion. In partnership with Grazia, McArthurGlen’s Fashion Fling will run for a fortnight. To mark the launch of the event, an exclusive hub will launch in the outlet, acting as the centre’s style mecca, where shoppers can see the most lust-worthy new season fashion and accessories available at the centre. To celebrate the Fashion Fling there will also be exclusive offers and flash sales in the centre. Tina Cumpstey, Centre Manager at Swindon Designer Outlet, says: “The Fashion Fling brings the fantastic, on-trend fashion and accessories we offer shoppers to the fore. The new spring products will have just arrived in the centre, and across all of our designer and high street brands, there will be excellent offers and additional savings to be had. Designer outlet shopping has never been better.” As well as the unbeatable offers, talks and flash sales, shoppers will be able to easily spot this season’s hottest spring fashion and accessories products with ‘As Seen In Grazia’ swing tags placed on hero on-trend products found in the outlet; cherry picked by Grazia’s team of expert stylists and fashion insiders. McArthurGlen’s Fashion Fling launches nationwide across the UK centres in Cheshire Oaks, Ashford, Bridgend, East Midlands, Livingston, Swindon and York. The event launches on Saturday 6th April, and runs for a fortnight, with exclusive brand offers and mini flash sales running on the weekends of 13-14th and 20-21st April.

The forgotten tax By Florence Pearce, Specialist Wills Trusts and Probate Solicitor with AMD Solicitors

t is arguable that Inheritance Tax should be the forgotten tax. Life is for living and, should you ‘live long and prosper’, some of your estate may be lost to the Revenue, but worrying about this could be a waste of the life you have. However, if you would be happier in the knowledge that as much of your hard-earned wealth as possible is passed on to the next generation, read on … Inheritance Tax is currently charged at 40% on the value of your estate over £325,000. The good news is that most married couples can currently elect to use both the tax free bands on the death of the survivor. So, unless the combined estate exceeds £650,000, paying Inheritance Tax may be avoided. Where the family resources exceed this sum, planning for Inheritance Tax may be worthwhile. Here are five options to consider: 1. Can assets pass to your heirs directly, without forming part of your estate? It may be possible for the benefits payable under insurance or pension policies, for example, to be put in trust to pass directly to your children. Assets that pass directly to your heirs may not be taken into account in the tax calculation. 2. Where there are comfortable levels of wealth, making lifetime gifts can help in reducing the tax bill. For example, using your annual exemption of £3,000, small gifts of no more than £250, and certain gifts made on marriage, are ignored for tax purposes. For larger gifts, there is usually no tax due if the gift is made more than 7 years before death, and the bill (on gifts totalling more than £325,000) will reduce on a sliding scale depending on the date of death within that period. 3. Some business and farming assets can be passed on without attracting Inheritance Tax, or attracting a lower rate. We can advise you on whether your assets could qualify for these reliefs. 4. Gifts to your spouse and to charity usually pass free of Inheritance Tax. In addition, where 10% of the estate is left to charity, the tax on the rest of the estate can be reduced to 36%. If you wish a charity to receive part of your estate, a carefully drafted Will can enable you to make use of this tax break. 5. Creating a trust under which assets are held for your heirs is another option to consider. Trusts and their implications for Inheritance Tax can be complex, so seeking specialist advice on this option is a must. AMD Solicitors have a busy Private Client department, and our experienced specialist solicitors will be happy to go through the options for minimising Inheritance Tax with you. So, if planning for Inheritance Tax is right for you, we can help. Telephone 0117 9621205 or email probate@amdsolicitors.com Information in this article is of general guidance only and can not be relied upon as advice in individual circumstances © AMD Solicitors

Winner of the local law firm of the year award 2011

For further information visit: www.swindondesigneroutlet.com www.facebook.com/swindondesigneroutlet @swindon_outlet

www.thebristolmagazine.co.uk

Telephone us on (0117) 9621205 or visit our website www.amdsolicitors.com April 2013

The Bristol Magazine 67

Taunton School Editorial fp:Layout 2

21/3/13

09:26

Page 1

ADVERTORIAL FEATURE

THE VERY BEST START IN LIFE Dr John Newton, headmaster of Taunton School, writes ...

here are many in independent education – and I am one who argue that league table positions are not the full story about a school. Such institutions are seeking to hit higher targets than merely a sound set of qualifications for the right career. Aspiration in the exam room is a given, but such schools wish to do so much more. The plethora of extra curricular activities means that children have the chance to be fulfilled as athletes (in the broadest possible terms) or musicians, debaters or charity workers, actors or lovers of the exotic and outward bound. Taunton School, for example, believes in preparation for a global future where pupils are trained to be ready to make a difference anywhere in the world. As an avowedly co-educational school Taunton wishes to ensure that boys and girls learn very early on how to work together. There has been too much neglect of female virtues in the professional world, and not enough attention to how they can work with the qualities of the male to make the world a better place. The 21st century will be characterised by many things, two of which are the need for men and women to complement each other better in the workplace and the need for global mindedness with the right attitudes to match. In all, the independent sector talks about fulfilment – for the child who maximises their potential, and the parent who feels they have done all they could. It is not a sector that is closed to all but a few. Many schools ask parents simply to come and ask the question – can I afford it? Too many examples can be found of those who did just that and found a willing hand from the school, a little help from family and their own 68 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

resources made it possible for their kids to enjoy what many believe to be the very best start in life. Come and see what we can offer ... We are not easily satisfied at Taunton School. While we pride ourselves on our superb pastoral care, the highly professional preparation of young people for exams, and a fine range of sporting and cultural activities, we somehow do not think that is enough in the current climate. Tough times lie ahead for our young people. They will need an edge in a world that is becoming more competitive. Long careers lie ahead for our children that will require skills that exams simply cannot test, we aim to provide exceptional experiences beyond the norm – great guest speakers, research opportunities, shows to which we feel confident to invite the public, debates that are current and cutting edge, departments that must do more than just teach lessons, mark homework and prepare for exams. If one word sums up Taunton School, it is ambition. Come and see what the school’s exciting plans for your child might be as they stand on the threshold of an exciting but daunting lifetime. Take a look ... Taunton School holds regular personal tours - accompanied by current students - and is also staging Open Mornings on April 27th (0-13 years) and May 6th (0-18). For further information, call 01823 703703. www.tauntonschool.co.uk

P69:Layout 23

18/3/13

16:52

Page 49

DO YOU HAVE A SPARE ROOM? FRIENDLY HOSTS WANTED FOR OUR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS We are looking for welcoming, hospitable hosts to accommodate our international students. • Long and short stays available • Great experience • Great rates of pay For more information, please contact: Elaine Sawyer Accommodation Oﬃcer 27 Oakﬁeld Road, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 2AT Tel: 0117 909 0911 Fax: 0117 907 7181 Email: elaine@ihbristol.com Web: www.ihbristol.com

Study Travel Exams Holidays

WEST

COUNTRY on sale at all good newsagents FOR A BETTER VIEW OF THE WEST MAKE SURE YOU NEVER MISS AN ISSUE!

SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE 25%

On Sale No w priced

£3.30

£15.00 (6 issues) or £30.00 (12 issues) To subscribe just send a cheque payable to MC Publishing Ltd

2 Princes Buildings, George Street, Bath BA1 2ED or telephone 01225 424 499 for card payments Mr/Mrs/Ms....................Forename ......................................Surname .............................. Address.............................................................................................................................. .......................................................................................................................................... Postcode ........................................Daytime telephone No ..............................................

www.thebristolmagazine.co.uk

April 2013

The Bristol Magazine 69

P70:Layout 22

18/3/13

70 The Bristol Magazine

16:50

Page 62

April 2013

Badminton School fp:Layout 7

18/3/13

16:51

Page 1

Bristol Easter Guide :Layout 1

20/3/13

11:02

Page 1

EASTERevents

Events Activities THE EASTER HOLIDAYS Shiver Me Timbers! A Pirate Trail at Tyntesfield

Storytelling Shakespeare at St George’s Bristol

PIRATE MANIA

Build It!, daily

EASTER FUN

Tyntesfield, Wraxall, North Somerset. Tel: 01275 461900 www.nationaltrust.org.uk/tyntesfield

Opening just in time for the Easter holidays is a new permanent exhibition for under-eights. Little ones can set to work on an interactive construction site, complete with hard hats, giant building blocks and scaffold to climb, in order to build their own house. Children must work together through the exciting challenges.

M Shed, Princes Wharf, Wapping Road, Bristol. Tel: 0117 352 6600 www.mshed.org

Pirate School, Saturday 30 & Sunday 31 March, one hour workshops between 11am and 4pm The good ship Tyntesfield needs a new crew, so if you want to sail the high seas join the team. You need to be a good swash buckler and able to hunt treasure. The cost is £5 per child and they must be accompanied by an adult.

Shiver Me Timbers! A Pirate Trail, Until Sunday 3 April, 10am – 5pm

Kitchen Chemistry, daily Foods will be put under the microscope as the team investigates the chemistry behind flavour, you can discover why food changes when it’s cooked and take part in some fun experiments to see if you can trick your tastebuds.

See if you can complete Tyntesfield’s pirate trail this Easter. Shipshape fancy dress is recommended for all lads, lassies and young scallywags.

Top Tricks, daily

Tyntesfield Thursday, Thursday 4 April, 11.30am – 3.30pm

CHILDREN’S THEATRE

Join the team for a family fun drop-in craft activity in the converted sawmill. Each activity is inspired by an object, story or area of the estate – past themes have included the boating pond in the gardens, ceramics from the house collection and fairy tales found in the library.

SENSATIONAL SCIENCE At-Bristol, Harbourside, Bristol. Tel: 0845 345 1235 www.at-bristol.org.uk

Spring Night Sky Planetarium Show, daily The nights are getting shorter but they’re still dark enough for some star spotting. Be inspired by the expert-led planetarium show: learn how to find satellites, discover more about Satum, and see if you can spot Bootes the Herdesman, Leo the Lion and Ursa Major the Great Bear.

72 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

Expect plenty of bangs, flames and surprising science as At-Bristol presents its top ten favourite science tricks – which will be your number one?

The Brewery Theatre, The Tobacco Factory, Raleigh Road, Southville, Bristol. Box office tel: 0117 902 0344 www.tobaccofactory.com

Rumpelstiltskin, Tuesday 2 – Sunday 7 April, 2pm; Wednesday – Sunday, 11am & 2pm Follow the troubled Miller’s daughter as she tries to outwit the greatest trickster of them all. Straw turns to gold, magic and mayhem is in the air and before the sun rises the heroine must solve the riddle and save the day or will rotten Rumpel double cross her once and for all? Hiccup Theatre spin live music, puppetry and mischevious storytelling into a golden new version of this classic fairytale by Olivier awardwinning writer Mike Kenny. The show is recommended for children aged 5 to 8 years and tickets are £6 each.

Family Screening of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (U), Tuesday 2 April, 2pm Enjoy the original film version (1971) of Roald Dahl’s much-loved book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Seats are limited so you are encouraged to arrive early.

ZOO EXPLORATION Bristol Zoo Gardens, Clifton, Bristol. Tel: 0117 9747309 www.bristolzoo.org.uk

They’re Back! DinoZoo2, Until Sunday 8 September Dinosaurs are back by popular demand. For six months, 12 life-like dinosaurs will be placed around the zoo in an animatronic exhibition that will take you on a journey that started over 65 million years ago. Dinosaurs include the Tyrannosaurus Rex and the Stegosaurus.

WORDS OF WONDER St George’s, Great George Street, Bristol. Tel: 0845 40 24 001 www.stgeorgesbristol.co.uk

Storytelling Shakespeare, Friday 5 April, 2pm & 3.45pm Discover the enchanted world of The Tempest – a fantastical place of strange monsters and airy spirits, young lovers and powerful magic. In this unique performance, storyteller Catherine Mallorie shares the wonder of Shakespeare’s great play in a story-told version for all the family. Ideal for ages 5+ and the running time is 55 minutes with no interval. >>

The Holbourne Museum fp:Layout 1

18/3/13

12:16

Page 1

Bristol Easter Guide :Layout 1

15/3/13

14:36

Page 2

EASTERevents Rumpelstiltskin at The Tobacco Factory

Varmints at Bristol Old Vic

Easter Trail at Lacock Abbey

Deadly Safari at Longleat

GO WILD Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens, Burford, South Gloucestershire. Tel: 01993 823006 www.cotswoldwildlifepark.co.uk

Easter Egg Hunt and Cotswold Falconry, Friday 29 March – Monday 1 April There will be an Easter egg hunt where children can win a chocolate egg and there will also be birds of prey flying displays from Cotswold Falconry. New to the park is a pair of six-banded armadillos from South America and soon there will also be crocodile monitors, one of the world’s largest reptiles. The restaurant has been refurbished and winning entries from the 2012 photography competition are on display.

Rhino Week, Saturday 6 – Sunday 14 April This will be a whole week dedicated to rhinobased talks and activities to highlight the park’s work with the Tusk Trust. There will also be a children’s drawing competition – the drawings of rhinos will go on display in the rhino house and will be judged at the end of the week to potentially win a prize. Rhino keeper talks will be held daily at 3.30pm.

SPRING INTO ACTION

woodlands. Enter the realm of giants and tiny micro-worlds and discover tree champions and the incredible hidden processes that help trees to survive.

PEDAL POWER Castle Combe Circuit, Chippenham, Wiltshire. Tel: 01249 782417 www.castlecombecyclingfestival.co.uk

Castle Combe Cycling Festival & Severn Bridge Sportive, Sunday 2 June You can now buy tickets for the Castle Combe Cycling Festival, now in its second year. Savage Skills, the UK’s leading freestyle mountain bike stunt team will put on a display of incredible stunts while the strider adventure zone will offer balance bike fun for 2-5 year olds. Toddlebike tryouts are back as are wacky cycles with challenging and funny bikes. The Severn Bridge Sportive has an option of a 100km or 100 mile route with both rides taking in the Cotswold scenery that surrounds the circuit before taking cyclists onto the bridge itself. There is a 25 per cent early bird discount on the Family Cycling Festival ticket when purchased before 27 May.

SHIPSHAPE SHENNANIGANS

Westonbirt Arboretum, Tetbury, Gloucestershire. Tel: 01666 880220 www.forestry.gov.uk/westonbirt

ss Great Britain, Great Western Dockyard, Bristol. Tel: 0117 926 0680 www.ssgreatbritain.org

Easter Challenge, Tuesday 26 – Friday 29 March, 10.30am – 4pm

Family Trails, daily

Follow the family trail and answer the riddles to discover a spring surprise. There will also be craft activities such as flower sewing cards, paint blowing and blossom printing – for ages 3+.

All Things Great and Small, Tuesday 2 – Thursday 4 April, 10.30am – 4pm Find out more about the creatures that live in the 74 The Bristol Magazine

Coming Soon: Castle Combe Cycling Festival & Severn Bridge Sportive at Castle Combe Circuit

April 2013

Families can explore Brunel’s ss Great Britain with these exciting new trails which bring the ship to life through the eyes of the crew.

Sea Hear Storytelling, Tuesday 2 April & 7 May, 11am, Brunel Institute Just turn up with your pre-school little ones and settle down for some maritime tales – storyteller Sarah Mooney captivates their imaginations.

THE GREAT OUTDOORS Lacock Abbey, Lacock, Nr Chippenham. Tel: 01249 730459 www.nationaltrust.org/lacock

Easter Trail, Sunday 31 March & Monday 1 April, 10.30am – 4pm Meet the superhero eggheads – a band of delicious chocolatey heroes, find out about their superpowers and help them unmask the bad egg among the team on the self-led family trail.

SAFARI ADVENTURE Longleat, Warminster, Wiltshire. Tel: 01985 844400 www.longleat.co.uk

Deadly Safari, from Easter 2013 BBC Worldwide and Longleat Safari & Adventure Park are joining forces to create a new series of Deadly-themed features in the style of BBC’s Deadly branded series. From Easter you are invited to go on a Deadly Safari discovering some of Longleat’s deadliest creatures. Presenter Steve Backshall has voiced the guide of facts and has included his own experiences.

FAMILY THEATRE Bristol Old Vic, King Street, Bristol. Tel: 0117 987 7877 www.bristololdvic.org.uk

Varmints, Friday 10 & Saturday 11 May, 7pm; matinees: 2pm Book early to make sure you get tickets to this new dance-theatre show for ages 8+. Varmints tells the poignant tale of one small creature’s struggle to preserve a world in danger of being lost forever – every day the city grows larger and the noise grows louder. It is based on the awardwinning book by Helen Ward and Marc Craste.

BANES Roman Baths fp:Layout 2

18/3/13

12:23

Page 1

Ones to Watch:Layout 1

18/3/13

16:23

Page 1

ONEStoWATCH

The spirit of enterprise The streets of Bristol are humming with the sound of new and independent businesses being set up. Bethany Wivell has been to visit a handful of them

ll over the city you can find Bristol’s entrepreneurs, busy defying the economic odds and generating a new buzz. Over the past year, Bristol has witnessed a flurry of business startups and is seeing signs of renewed confidence in the local high street and its independent retailers. Delphine Horsley is one of those entrepreneurs. The former owner of The Function Room, she opened women’s fashion outlet, Portabella, in Clifton Village three months ago. Designed for women of all ages, Portabella stocks a colourful mix of costume jewellery, jumpers and dresses. Inspired by its namesake, Portobello Road, the shop boasts an eclectic mix of styles and patterns but each item, I’m assured, has been carefully selected to suit Bristol’s savvy shoppers. Delphine said: “Style advice is as much a part of the shop as the clothes we stock and building a good rapport with our customers is key to our success. We provide real, personal service in a friendly, laidback atmosphere. We want people to come in, browse, have a chat and feel happy when they leave.” Portabella operates with just two staff, so customers are greeted with a familiar face and a consistent service. But, while the staff will remain the same, the shop will continue to evolve as it follows fashion trends and expands its range to include reasonably priced leather footwear, floral dresses and vintage jewellery. With its passing footfall, coffee loungers and relaxed shoppers, Portabella has found a good niche in Bristol’s vibrant village. Mabboo is another clothing line that can be added to the Bristol mix. Built around sustainability, with the ultimate goal of becoming the market leading sustainable lifestyle brand, all of its products are made from bamboo, which grows 100 per cent organically, incredibly fast (up to the height of a double decker bus in a week) and requires no irrigation, unlike water intensive cotton. Mabboo was created by Southville’s Edward Cheney in 2009, when he came across bamboo clothing while living in China. Edward saw huge potential for this wonder material to transform the apparel industry, and started selling bamboo t-shirts at Bristol’s Tobacco Factory market. After two years of hard graft

76 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

selling at markets and festivals across the UK, Edward has recently expanded the Mabboo range to include socks, underwear and polos, as well as using bamboo in its traditional hard form to develop iPad covers, tablet and phone cases. All of which was showcased in its first pop-up shop in The Galleries shopping centre last year. Edward also appeared on Sky One’s, The Angel, in 2012 where he battled it out against other entrepreneurs to seek financial investment. He didn’t win but Mabboo has since received a substantial amount of interest and his plans for 2013 include the launch of a crowd sourcing campaign to help fund the world’s most sustainable bamboo fabric and the opening of a second pop-up shop shortly. Fans of Laura Hart’s bakery were disappointed when, just over a year ago, she was forced to move out of the Cotham premises where she’d been tempting locals with her fresh bread, croissants and buns. But regulars will be pleased to know that Harts Bakery has risen again, in an old Victorian railway arch right next to Temple Meads Station where Laura’s friendly team and freshly baked custard tarts and other goodies, including hot lunches, have fast become a favourite.

CREATIVE TYPES: bouquets and posies from Ivory Flowers and fresh custard tarts from Harts Bakery

To know you can make something beautiful ❝ that will bring happiness to somebody is a great feeling. I love it ❞ Harts Bakery specialises in sourdough breads, all of which are made on site with wild yeasts and a long, gentle process. Most of the breads take around 20 hours to make which results in a great flavour, high quality and means they are much easier to digest. The open plan premises allows visitors to watch the bakers at work while enjoying a coffee and there’s the chance to join one of Laura’s monthly Bread & Breakfast workshops. Unlike other bakers, Harts makes everything during the day, so customers can enjoy bread and pastries still warm from the oven and its central location means there is a constant supply of freshly baked goods to satisfy hungry commuters. “Opening up

Ones to Watch:Layout 1

18/3/13

16:23

Page 2

ONEStoWATCH

IN THEIR FASHION: above, Portabella in Clifton and below, bamboo t-shirts from Mabboo

in a completely different area was a risk but so far people seem to be finding us and we are really happy to be here at the start of exciting development plans for the Temple Meads area,” said Laura. “We’re planning a number of collaborations with other businesses in Bristol, as our location lends itself so well to being used in lots of different ways, and food lovers can expect supper clubs, pop-ups and lots more.” Xanthe Ivory is the woman behind Ivory Flowers launched in May 2011. After a year of juggling a part-time job at an insurance firm while keeping her weekend pitch at a Sunday market, Xanthe finally took the plunge and in February 2012 she dedicated herself to her flowers full time. A year on and Xanthe and her flowers can now be found outside the Tobacco Factory on a daily basis, selling a huge variety of seasonal British grown flowers. Having started in floristry at just 19 being able to deal with armsful of nature on a daily basis is a dream come true for her. She said: “I constantly feel inspired, whether by a new variety of flower or the change in the season – every month is different. To know you can make something beautiful that will bring happiness to somebody is a great feeling. I love it and now I am a full time florist, I never want to do anything else.” Xanthe’s passion for what she does is obvious and has earned her a bunch of loyal buyers. Her flowers are scented and their smell – let alone their visual impact – is enough to attract any passer-by. With a wedding contract list growing on a monthly basis and a following of local customers, Xanthe’s business is really beginning to blossom. ■

www.thebristolmagazine.co.uk

April 2013

The Bristol Magazine 77

FIT AND FAB APRIL:Layout 1

18/3/13

16:11

Page 1

FIT&FABULOUS

Colour explosion Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW) will be brightening up the city with an explosion of colour in its first ever Rainbow Run on the Clifton Downs on Sunday 19 May. The CHSW 5k Rainbow Run will see participants start the event in a pristine white t-shirt and end it covered in the colours of the rainbow and a huge smile on their face. Runners will pass through five rainbow stations on the course where they will be showered with different coloured powder paints that are 100 per cent natural and safe. This is an event that’s not about speed or fitness; it’s about celebration, having fun and raising a smile for your local children’s hospice, CHSW’s Charlton Farm. CHSW’s Charlton Farm hospice is a magical place, full of fun and laughter where precious memories are made for life-limited children and their families. Entry for the Rainbow Run is £10; to register to take part visit: www.chsw.org.uk/rainbowrun or tel: 01275 866600.

News in Brief • Luxury bath, body and beauty product company Molton Brown has unveiled its new concept store at The Mall, Cribbs Causeway. Out with the old and in with the new as this shop includes improved lighting, more space and stainless steel basins to try all your favourite products. The way in which you can navigate around the store has also changed, as it becomes a journey led by fragrance and colour. Expert staff will be on hand to guide you through the new store and indulge you in complimentary experiences where products from every fragrance category are on hand to try. • The ever-popular Beauty Event is returning to Bristol this month, at Venue 35 Brasserie in Westbury on Trym. On Thursday 25 April, from 7pm – 10.30pm, you can enjoy an evening of pampering and indulgence, with a 30-minute treatment, glass of wine or soft drink on arrival, buffet, makeovers, chiropractic consultations, beauty and skincare demonstrations and more. The event will also host special guests life coach Sam Holman who will talk on The Power of the Unconscious Mind, and style expert Karen Lowe who will be offering free style consultations, as well as the chance to win a two hour wardrobe consultation with her. Tickets are £30 from tel: 07794 070812.

78 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

SKIN DEEP The latest health and beauty news and product reviews from Samantha Coleman

3 2

▲ Just launched ❶

If you suffer from bare lashes, then the new So Intense mascara from Sisley is for you. So Intense Thickening and Strengthening Mascara has a soft, creamy formula that improves the length and thickness of lashes in only four weeks. The active ingredient of vitamin peptide, renowned for the treatment of hair loss, stimulates the multiplication of keratinocytes in the lash root to help increase the length and thickness of lashes; while also improving lash anchorage in the dermis to slow down lash loss during make-up removal, so lashes are less weak and more intense, strengthened and more securely held. The brilliantly designed comb captures each lash at its base, lengthening and curling them to perfection for an ultra-volumising effect – evenly distributed too. Available in House of Fraser and Harvey Nichols, £38.

❷

New Plantscription SPF 25 anti-aging cream from Origins features raspberry plant stem cell technology to address the four major signs of skin aging, helping to reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles, lifting, smoothing skin’s texture and reviving the look of bounce. Despite its thick consistency, it is light on the skin and instantly absorbed for a deeply nourishing effect. Skin looks younger, smoother and revitalised. Available from John Lewis, £46.

❸

Those of you who know how gorgeously soft and smooth your skin feels after using the classic Palmer’s cocoa butter will be excited to hear that the company has launched a range of three hand creams and three lip balms in its super formula of pure cocoa butter and vitamin E. The lip balms and hand creams provide effective relief against dry and cracked skin – with its distinctive chocolately sweetness too. Available at Boots and Superdrug from £1.79.

LUNA:Layout 1

19/3/13

18:09

Page 1

291 Gloucester Road, Bristol, BS7 8NY tel: 0117 942 0011 or email us at info@lunaroptical.com

A new Independent Optical Practice has opened in Gloucester Road, Bristol. It is an exciting new venture set up by two friends Jill Sunderland and Pam Eastman.

Jill says “Having worked in optics for many years, Pam and I wanted to open a practice with a fresh approach to eye care. We really want to take care of all our customers and offer them good old fashioned, honest advice and a very professional service. Lunar Optical offers comprehensive eye examinations, both private and NHS A wide range of great value FRAMES, SUNGLASSES and CONTACT LENSES, As well as HEARING SERVICES Jill and Pam are on hand to give expert advice on which frame will best suit you and the best lenses for your lifestyle; they'll even make you a cuppa! Pam says “We have an extensive range of lovely frames to suit all faces, ages and budgets. Jill and I love what we do and will go that bit further to make sure you end up with a pair of glasses you love” Outside prescriptions are welcomed and they will even reglaze your own frames if you can’t bear to change them!

LAVISH REVIEW:PIF Full Page

21/3/13

13:56

Page 67

REVIEW

Bristol’s best kept secret Samantha Coleman visits Lavish Salon & Spa in The Marriott Royal Hotel for an afternoon of pampering

don’t really want to disclose this precious information, but for the sake of spreading a little goodness, I will... I’d never been into the Marriott Royal Hotel on Park Street before because, well, it’s a Marriott, and there are plenty of independent restaurants and bars all over the city I’d much rather frequent; but when I heard that Bristol salon and spa, Lavish, had moved there, I decided to pay a visit... and quelle surprise! As soon as I arrived in the lobby through the revolving doors of this grand building, I was instantly captivated by the polished marble, warm mahogany and gleaming brass of this fine example of a charming Victorian hotel. As I walked the elegant hallways, past the striking palm court dining room and downstairs to the spa, I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed. Located next to the hotel’s leisure facilties, the spa occupies a large, sumptuous, boutique-style space with three treatment rooms, manicure and pedicure area and hair salon. On a Wednesday afternoon when I visited, it was quietly busy with hotel residents and local clients who have already heard of this place and secretly come back time and time again to enjoy the spendour of the location and indulgent experience. And indeed it is an experience. Be transported into a state of serenity through calming music, aromatherapy fragrances and the wide range of treatments on offer, from waxing, Swedish massage and facials, to hair restyles, manicures, pedicures and spray tanning. What makes this a hidden gem is that there is no street noise, no hustle and bustle and you’re not in public view, so you can just switch off and enjoy some ‘me’ time. I started my pampering with the spa’s signature treatment, the Lavish R and R (£75), which combines a Pevonia facial tailored to your skin’s needs while you lie on warm basatt stones to help you unwind right down to your core. It was a soothing and comforting experience and included a deep cleanse, exfoliation, massage and mask with products that contain the finest natural marine and botanical ingredients, combined with technologically advanced formulas. The products felt enriching as soon as they were applied, and they smelt beautiful too. The results were just as impressive – my sensitive and dry skin was rehydrated and glowing, and didn’t feel greasy from the products at all. A nice touch was the lemon sorbet served at the end of the treatment to reawaken the senses. Following this, my hair was given a TIGI Hair Reborn treatment in the trendy salon. Like the facial, it is specially tailored to your needs, and as my locks were shamefully weak and damaged from colouring, my treatment focussed on restrengthening and restoring. The idea is that over time, using these products, hair is revived, awakened and refreshed. Lavish was handpicked by TIGI to be the first salon in Bristol to stock Hair Reborn, so this was a new and exciting experience for me. After the treatment was washed out my hair was blow-dried and styled to perfection and I walked out of the hotel feeling fabulous, my locks looking healthy and glossy and my skin radiant. I’ll be back for sure. ■ Lavish Salon & Spa, The Marriott Royal Hotel, College Green, Bristol. Book on tel: 0117 927 3389 or visit: www.lavish-spa.co.uk READER OFFER: Quote The Bristol Magazine when you book the Lavish R and R signature treatment to receive 10% off. Or enjoy the TIGI Hair Reborn treatment for £20 (normally £39) when you book Monday – Friday. 80 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

College of Naturopathic Medicine fp April:Layout 23

18/3/13

12:20

Page 1

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

A healthy gut means fewer food intolerances

By Nutritional Therapist Georgie O’Connor for the College of Naturopathic Medicine.

ood allergies are immediate, dramatic and may even be life threatening; people who have such allergies know the foods that cause them and steer well clear. Food intolerances, on the other hand, are quite devious by comparison. We know that some foods can be hard on our tummies, such as coffee, spicy foods, junk foods or fried foods; the consequences of which may be abdominal cramps, acid indigestion, constipation and diarrhoea. The symptoms of food intolerance may include these but they may also be fatigue, mental confusion, depression or muscle aches. In fact the symptoms of food intolerance may be so diverse that the sufferer may not associate them with food at all! They can appear many hours after the offending food item has been consumed or even only after multiple exposure. Stress, smoking, alcohol, antibiotic therapy, frequent aspirin or ibuprofen use and poor dietary habits all take their toll on the digestive system. This may then result in tissue injury and inflammation which produces the symptoms suffered. There are numerous ways to identify culprit foods but most are best done under the guidance of a health professional to avoid inadvertent exclusion of major, important food groups which may leave you vulnerable to malnutrition. A naturopathic nutritional therapist will work with you to identify problem areas for your constitution, as a first step. Identification and then exclusion of the offending food from the diet, although important, is only part of the story; you also need to identify and either remove or minimise any lifestyle factors that were exacerbating the condition. Most importantly, you also need to repair the gut lining to ensure efficient digestion and absorption of food. When the source of the irritation has been identified and removed we need to calm the tissue and gently line the intestinal tract with aloe vera juice or slippery elm powder. Next, we need to repopulate the gut with good bacteria. Depending on the severity of your problem, www.thebristolmagazine.co.uk

it may be more efficient to use a supplement at this stage. The bacteria in your gut are crucially important to your health and immunity. Whilst ‘bad’ bacteria (from a poor or high-sugar diet) gives rise to an overgrowth of yeast and fungi in your gut, a healthy diet causes beneficial gut bacteria to flourish. These can help not only to prevent ‘intolerances’ to certain foods, but to restore your gut integrity and your health generally. The current trend for probiotics (which promote the growth of friendly intestinal bacteria) is simply following on from our forebears’ understanding that traditionally lacto-fermented foods, previously employed as a preservation technique, have enormous health benefits. In fact numerous studies show that a huge number of conditions and diseases can be helped by probiotics. ‘Traditionally fermented’ can apply to olives, pickles, yogurt, sauerkraut and so on, but a word of warning: not all fermentation is equal. Commercial processes can halt the fermentation and enzymatic processes, meaning that the foods fail to deliver the required benefits. There are some great books around on how to traditionally ferment foods yourself. Your system could take around 6 months to recover from a food intolerance. Once that’s happened, you may well find that it’s possible to reintroduce an offending food item as an occasional treat. Try a single small portion and check for side effects. If it’s still making you suffer, it was never your friend in the first place!

Free Open Evening Wednesday 3rd April 2013: 6:30pm – 8:30pm Find out about training at CNM Bristol for a new career in

Naturopathic Nutrition, or Naturopathic Acupuncture.

Free Health Talk Thursday 4th April 2013: 5:30pm – 6:30pm Join Iza Redon, a successful Chef and CNM Graduate for a talk on how to optimise your health and prevent illness with livefoods! Includes a taster demo on how to make your own

fermented foods, and free tastings! For info and venues: 01342 410 505 email info@naturopathy-uk.com

www.naturopathy-uk.com

April 2013

The Bristol Magazine 81

April HN:Layout 2

20/3/13

12:33

Page 1

STAYbeautiful

s the days get longer and the temperatures rise, it’s time to shed those winter layers and bare some flesh. But while you may well be full of the joys of spring, your skin could still be showing signs of the winter blues. A couple of months wrapped up toasty warm with the heating on full blast does little to nourish the complexion, leaving skin feeling dry and looking dull. Kick start the new season with some facial TLC – forget clearing out the cupboards and turn your attention to giving your skin a spring clean instead. Hard-working exfoliators and scrubs are designed to wash away dead skin cells, tonics help revitalise, and cleanser clear out your pores to leave you with radiant, glowing and summer-ready skin.

● All products featured are available from the Ground Floor Beauty Hall at Harvey Nichols Bristol.

BEAUTY SPRING CLEAN

Forget housework and instead pay attention to you. Lisa Piddington picks the best luxury products to deep clean and detox

10 8

11 6

1: Soap & Glory fab pore hot cloth cleanser, £9.50. 2: Ole Henriksen African red tea exfoliating lip salve, £12.50. 3: Creme de la Mer The Hydrating Facial, £190. 4: Bliss No Zit Sherlock cleanser and toner, £18. 5: Dr Hauschka facial toner, £23.50. 6: Tom Ford purifying cleanser, £45. 7: StriVectin-SD Instant Retexturizing Scrub, £37. 8: Elemis Melting Cleansing Gel, £21. 9: Elemis Exotic Cream Moisturising Mask, £32.50. 10: Neal’s Yard frankincense toner, £20.50. 11: Dr Nick Lowe menthol facial scrub, £11.50. 82 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

Ladyzone fp x 2:Layout 1

20/3/13

12:34

Page 1

Ladyzone fp x 2:Layout 1

19/3/13

09:33

Page 2

P85:Layout 23

18/3/13

16:52

Page 49

hair

CARLO &beauty M

MOROCCANOIL ®

Stockists

Main stockists of REDKEN

Tel: 0117 968 2663 • www.carlohairandbeauty.co.uk 6 Rockleaze Rd, Sneyd Park, Bristol BS9 1NF

SET IN THE LUXURIOUS LOCATION OF THE PRESTIGIOUS BRISTOL ROYAL MARRIOTT HOTEL, LAVISH SALON AND SPA IS A BUSY BOUTIQUE SALON, OPEN TO NON RESIDENTS WITH FREE PARKING. EXCLUSIVELY CHOSEN BY TIGI TO BE THE FIRST SALON IN BRISTOL TO STOCK TIGI HAIR REBORN, THE ULTIMATE LUXURY HAIR CARE RANGE. STOCKIST OF TIGI, PEVONIA BOTANICA, JESSICA, GHD AND MOROCCAN OIL FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER FOR ALL THE LATEST NEWS AND PROMOTIONS

THE BRISTOL ROYAL MARRIOTT HOTEL, COLLEGE GREEN, BRISTOL, BS1 5TA WWW.LAVISH-SPA.CO.UK 0117 927 3389

www.thebristolmagazine.co.uk

April 2013

The Bristol Magazine 85

Interior Bristol:Layout 1

19/3/13

10:39

Page 1

COUNTRYproperty

Far from run of the mill Marianne Swinkels visits an old mill house that’s been imaginatively restored and modernised but still retains the air of tranquility of its timeless riverside setting

ause for a moment as the electronic gates swing open and you’ll be rewarded with an instant visual hit – as a slice of wooded valley, informal gardens and river bank slide into view. It’s an impressive introduction to what is to come. Gaze down, along the planted south-facing slope, extensive gravelled driveway, palms, pond and pathways, and then as this gem of a converted mill house suddenly presents itself centre stage you’ll get the full ‘ooh la la’ factor. Cleeve Mill, a substantial four storey residence which graces this secluded location with its stunning views of the weir and stretch of the River Frome, oozes a grand rustic style. And there’s yet more to see of this waterside (and reassuringly flood-free) property which nudges a little over the £1m mark. With a row of historic mill workers cottages, ripe for renovation, completing the tranquil scene, the overall ambience is rather more French than Frenchay, north Bristol. You are for an instant or two, smack in the middle of Gerard Depardieu’s Manon des Sources film set. If you are a fan of this genre you will be feeling very much at home here. Like Frenchay village itself, the unique character of this detached Grade II Listed building has long been shaped by its past. If the stone walls of this now family home could speak, there would no doubt be centuries of dramatic tales to tell. The River Frome – which now flows right down under the centre of Bristol – once proved to be a magnet as a source of power. Records dating back to the 14th century show that Cleeve Mill was just one of a series of water mills and weirs which sprang up along its 20 mile stretch. It is the rural feel of this plot, with some 200 yards of private river frontage complete with fishing rights, which will continue to act as a magnet for any owner here. The sight and sound of flowing water from many of its rooms, balconies, patios and terraced walkways is essentially what life at the mill is all about. It is a house for all seasons – a woodland nature reserve with grounds that are a haven for wildlife and where you can fish for wild brown trout, perch, pike, carp and roach for your supper. You can spuddle about in a boat for a decent few miles along the River Frome. You can even enjoy a swim. What more could you 86 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

SYMPATHETIC CONVERSION: main picture, the facade of Cleeve Mill and inset, a contemporary looking interior that makes the most of the ancient stone walls

want? Originally a grist mill, it is said it once had murky moneymaking links with Bristol’s slave trade. Unscrupulous merchant traders profited from the supply of pulses – classed as fodder – to cheaply feed their human cargo on their long sea voyages into bondage. Grinding corn gave way to making agricultural tools as Frenchay Iron Works took on the mill in the late 1700s and when, 100 or so years later, production stopped, Cleeve dropped an ‘e’ from its name and took on an altogether new life. Stroll through the grounds and along the towpath and you can see why this river spot once thrived as Cleve Tea Gardens, becoming a popular haunt for city day trippers keen to escape the smoke and smells of industrial Bristol. Old sepia photographs are still to be found of the good old days where patrons promenaded, sipped tea, chatted and courted and had fun messing about in hire boats. The coming of the car changed all that and in 1956 the mill fell into disrepair. That could have been the end – a fate that befell many of our rural mills. But fortune played its hand again and a new scene was added to Cleeve’s centuries old script. Rescued at auction and cleverly converted some 20 years ago, the mill of today is a gorgeous and spacious five double bedroom, three reception roomed home. Add to this a generous

Interior Bristol:Layout 1

19/3/13

10:40

Page 2

COUNTRYproperty

FAMILY HOME: one of the three reception rooms, with its cosy fireplace, and the modern, fitted kitchen

family kitchen and cellarage and you have a happy mix of history and heritage meeting contemporary décor and comfort. A place where exposed beams and stone walls blend easily with boutique style en suite bathrooms and where the restored medieval weir provides an impressive backdrop to al fresco dining on spacious balconies. Sensitively refurbished by the current owners over the last decade, a new addition to the old building has given Cleeve yet another lease of life. With an almost full wall of windows overlooking the terraces which flank the weir, a double height reception room with apex ceilings presents an extraordinary space where indoors melds with the watery world without. For anyone wanting a project, there is still ample scope to make your mark on this mill property’s fabric and future. The terraced row of one-up one-down cottages, once home to workers and their families, offer great potential for additional accommodation, office use, studio space and holiday lets. Or a tea room perhaps? ■

www.thebristolmagazine.co.uk

PROPERTY PORTFOLIO: Where: Cleeve Mill, Frenchay, Bristol BS16 What: Grade II Listed Mill House on the banks of the River Frome Price: £1,050,000 The spec: five bedrooms, three reception rooms and large family kitchen/dining room, three bathrooms (two en-suite), large cellars Outside: outbuildings including four former mill workers’ cottages, woodland gardens of c1.8 acres Added attractions: waterside frontage of 200m of River Frome, overlooking weir, fishing rights Agent: Knight Frank (Bristol residential office) Regent House, 27a Regent Street, Clifton BS8 4HR, tel: 0117 317 1999, email: Rupert.Oliver@knightfrank.com. Visit: www.knightfrank.co.uk.

April 2013

The Bristol Magazine 87

Farrow & Ball fp:Layout 6

19/3/13

13:29

Page 1

ADVERTORIAL FEATURE

Creating perfect tones Craftsmen in paint and paper, Farrow & Ball has been creating paint one batch at a time on the same site in Dorset since the company began. It also makes artisanal wallpapers using its paint to create uniquely textured papers

he company’s paints are revered worldwide for their immersive depth of colour and unmatched appearance. Created using high levels of pigment, rich resin binders and other ingredients with a high refractory nature, every shade is scrupulously tested before leaving the factory. The company makes interior and exterior paint finishes available in 132 colours so you can transform your home with colour. Made with Farrow & Ball water based paints rather than printer’s inks, and according to traditional block and trough printing methods, Farrow & Ball’s wallpapers are simply unique. The range encompasses florals, damasks, stripes and geometric patterns, and each design is inspired from archives of timeless and evocative wallpaper, fabric and pattern from around the world. Captivating new wallpaper designs Farrow & Ball recently launched four new wallpaper designs embracing geometric patterns and animal prints. Lattice is an undulating small-scale geometric pattern and Tessella is a clean large scale geometric. Ocelot and Rajah Stripe take inspiration from leopard and tiger prints respectively to create enticing wallpaper designs. Created in the same way as all Farrow & Ball wallpapers, each design is available in five colourways including neutrals, metallics and stronger shades. Farrow & Ball in your area Farrow & Ball now has two local showrooms in the Bristol and Bath area. The showrooms display the complete range of paint colours and wallpaper designs allowing you to browse the full collection. Each showroom offers customers the opportunity to experiment with colour, pattern and finish, with complimentary personal colour advice and suggested schemes available if required. Farrow & Ball 16 Princess Victoria Street, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 4BP. Telephone: 0117 973 3900 88 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

CSKB APRIL 13:Layout 1

18/3/13

10:55

Page 1

Over 20 Years’ experience of designing and installing Kitchens, Bathrooms and Bedrooms including carpentry and joinery works.

BeautiFul C S K B • 400 GLOUCESTER ROAD • HORFIELD • BRISTOL BS7 8TR TEL: 0117 924 6165

DESIGNS FOR LIFE!

E: sales@cs-kitchens.co.uk www.chippingsodburykitchens.co.uk

Open: Monday to Friday 9am – 5.30pm. Saturday 10am – 5pm.

Custom Designed. Computer Imagery. Total Project Management.

P90:Layout 22

21/3/13

13:49

Page 62

ING T H LIG ALIST I SPEC

8 BATH STREET, FROME. TEL: 01 373473555 WWW.FIATLUX.CO.UK Union Jack Task Lamp - Original BTC

90 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

P91:Layout 23

19/3/13

12:35

www.thebristolmagazine.co.uk

Page 49

April 2013

The Bristol Magazine 91

walk Bristol April:Layout 2

18/3/13

13:59

Page 1

OUT&ABOUT

Where the wild flowers are Now that spring is on its way it’s time to head out to the woods where the fresh green leaves are unfurling and bluebells and wild garlic carpet the earth. Andrew Swift charts a short walk in Prior’s Wood near Portbury

hat our April walk lacks in distance, it more than makes up for in scenic variety and in the abundance of bluebells and wild garlic along the way. Prior’s Wood, near Portbury, is justly famed for its bluebells, which should just be starting to appear about now. Prior’s Wood was once part of the Tyntesfield estate, and a half-timbered lodge that controlled access to this ancient woodland still survives. Today, though, it is owned and maintained by the Avon Wildlife Trust and access is open to all. Lime, oak, hazel and sweet chestnut predominate on the steep slopes and hidden coverts of this secret valley, and, while you will almost certainly spot – and hear – buzzards, you may also see chiffchaffs and garden warblers. The walk includes a couple of stiff climbs, and although most of it is through woodland, there are good views northwards over the Severn estuary. It also takes in a couple of grand houses and the remains of a priory, home to the prior who owned the wood in the Middle Ages. Given its length, and with so much of interest along the way, the walk is suitable for adventurous (and appropriately shod) children. However, parts of Prior’s Wood are steep and slippery, and the advice is to stick to the waymarked paths to avoid potential hazards. If you are lucky enough to be walking when the bluebells and garlic are in full bloom, you’ll be treated to one of the loveliest sights in the English countryside. A carpet of bluebells with the sun streaming through the trees creates a shimmering deep blue like no other, and the scent from wild garlic, or ransoms as they are also known, is positively heady. You can use wild garlic leaves to make homemade pesto or chop it into mashed potato to add a tangy flavour. It’s worth remembering that while it’s OK to forage leaves and fruit for your own consumption it is illegal to uproot wild flowers and there are some, like orchids, which are protected entirely from picking. In any case, bluebells once picked are very quick to droop and look sad in a vase – they’re

92 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

generally left where they grow. Stick to taking photographs of them in situ. To get to Portbury, turn west off the A369 just south of junction 19 of the M5. After 750 metres, when the road curves left up Mill Road, carry straight on along the High Street. After another 125 metres, when the road curves right into Station Road, you should find adequate parking. On leaving your car, head back along the High Street and turn right up Mill Lane. After 300 metres, turn right into Mill Close, go through a kissing gate on the left (ST499749) and head diagonally to the right across a field. Cross a stile, a stream and another stile, and bear left, keeping close to the hedge on your left. Go through a gateway, turn right through another gateway and bear left uphill beside the hedge. Go through a gateway, cross a stile beside a gate and head straight on, crossing another stile and following a path up into the woods. After 25 metres, turn right up a path by a brokendown gate. After 150 metres, when you come to a cross path with a private sign to the right, turn left for a few metres. When you come to another private sign, turn right up another path, and carry on until you reach a stile (ST498740). Once across the stile, follow a waymark diagonally across a field to the right. Go through a gate and follow a waymark diagonally across a field to the left. Cross a stile and head towards a small ruinous building. Cross a stile beside it and bear right alongside the fence. When you reach a drive, turn right along it, passing Charlton House, now the Downs School. At a crossroads, turn right. Carry on for 400 metres, passing Charlton Farm, now a children’s hospice, on your right. Like Prior’s Wood, this once belonged to Tyntesfield, and the ornate octagonal building was built as a model dairy in the 19th century. After going through a gate into Prior’s Wood, you will see an information board with a map highlighting areas rich in bluebells (ST490740). As you want to head for the north-east corner of the wood (where parking is indicated), the quickest way is to carry on

NATURAL BEAUTIES: the English bluebell is best left in situ as the stalks droop once picked

walk Bristol April:Layout 2

19/3/13

13:42

Page 2

OUT&ABOUT

LANDMARKS: left, the steep climb up from Portbury, and right, a partial ruin near Charlton House

along the footpath. For a longer and more scenic walk along the valley, however, bear left, following a green waymark downhill. After crossing an open area, the path heads back down into woodland and crosses a footbridge. Carry on uphill for a little way, before turning right, following another waymark. Carry on along the valley (where you may need to negotiate a couple of fallen trees) for 1,000 metres. Just before the end of the woods (with the roar of the motorway just a couple of fields away), turn right across a footbridge (ST488746) and carry on uphill between banks of wild garlic. When you meet another path, bear left along it, following a waymark. Carry on along the path as it heads out of the woods. Past the

www.thebristolmagazine.co.uk

half-timbered lodge, turn right along the road. Carry on past the remains of Portbury Priory, converted to a house in the 19th century, and return to the starting point. ■

FURTHER INFORMATION ■ ■ ■ ■

Length of walk: three miles Approx time: 1½ hours Map: OS Explorer 154 Level of challenge: straightforward, although with eight stiles, steep climbs, muddy stretches and possibly fallen trees

April 2013

The Bristol Magazine 93

94:Layout 22

19/3/13

13:40

Page 62

THE

BRISTOL

MAGAZINE

We deliver to over 24,000 addresses every month. But if you live outside our distribution area or would like us to send a copy to friends or family then we are able to offer a mailing service for only £15.00 (6 issues) or £25.00 Euro zone; £30.00 (12 issues) or £50.00 Euro zone World Zone 1 £95.00 World Zone 2 £120.00

To subscribe just send a cheque payable to MC Publishing Ltd 2 Princes Buildings, George Street, Bath BA1 2ED or Telephone 0117 974 2800 for card payment

Subscription FORM Mr/Mrs/Ms ................Forename .............................................. Surname...................................................................................... Address.................................................................................... ..........................................Postcode.................................. Daytime telephone No..................................................................

Bespoke Kitchen Design Handmade in Bristol

Morley g M G rove Kitchens

94 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

Morley Grove offers a wide range ot Bespoke kitchens from the ultra modern handleless kitchen to the classic shaker. Any design you have in mind we can accomodate all at fantastic prices to suit your budget. Morley Grove Kitchens : 110 Coldharbour Road, Redland, Bristol BS6 7SB 0117 915 0095 : www.morleygrove.co.uk Open times : 9.30am - 5.30pm Mon-Fri • 10.00am - 3pm Sat

Homexperts fp:Layout 10

18/3/13

16:52

Page 1

Bristol Classified - March 2013:Layout 4

19/3/13

13:38

Page 1

the directory to advertise in this section call 0117 974 2800

Want to find out more about advertising in The Bristol Magazine? Visit our website

www.thebristolmagazine.co.uk

Health, Beauty & Wellbeing

House & Home

The Furniture Care People.

Furniture, door, wood and metal stripping. Restoration techniques, unique non-toxic, non caustic System 2000. Suitable for both hard and soft wood. Non harmful. Our customers range from Home Owners to the V&A Museum

Recommended for Grade I Listed buildings

Franchise of the year award

Call Maria on 01225 315541 â&#x20AC;˘ www.kwikstrip.biz

Photography

96 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

THE SOFA LIBRARY The Sofa Library in Whiteladies Road has developed an enormous addition to its cabinet furniture ranges that mirrors the bespoke options of its upholstery. You can now buy all models for living, dining and bedrooms in either pine, oak or painted finishes and in hundreds of standard sizes, but more interestingly in any bespoke size to suit your space and bespoke sizes are only a small additional charge to the standard cost. The painted pieces can be done in literally any colour - Farrow and Ball, Little Green etc. and can even be made with one colour outside and another inside (particularly useful in bookcases) and with solid oak or pine tops if required. All pieces can be made in various style options - Plain Finish, Shaker or with Georgian or Victorian moulding styles - or you can literally design your own piece. The ranges are vast and cover every conceivable requirement from beds and bedroom storage to extendible dining tables and chairs and side boards, to home office and bookcase systems and wine storage. You can even have bookcases and desks etc. made to fit into an alcove or other space. Prices are significantly lower than the brand leader (which is made in China) and everything is made in England from sustainably sourced timber and ready in the same time as Sofa Library sofas - about three weeks. New painted fitted kitchen and bathroom collections will be launched in March. These ranges are not yet on the website because an entirely new trading web site is being built for the March launches, but The Sofa Library is at www.thesofalibrary.co.uk and the store is at 55-60, Whiteladies Road, Bristol, BS8 2PY, tel: 01173-292746

KF PIF full Page March:PIF Full Page

19/3/13

16:07

Page 69

BRISTOLproperty

yrtle Cottage is a fine detached family house situated off a private driveway in the highly sought after village of Abbots Leigh. Within quick and easy access of Bristol, Abbots Leigh is surrounded by miles of open, rolling countryside; much of it owned and managed by The National Trust. Although the property has origins dating back to the 18th century, the current owners have entirely renovated, extended and added to offer every modern comfort and a wealth of luxuries. With four bedrooms ( master with en suite) in the main house Myrtle Cottage also has a fully self-contained two bedroom annexe. With plenty of space outside featuring: large private landscaped gardens, pool, hot tub, summer/pool house, and a covered Koi Carp pond complete with water feature adds the feeling of a tranquil, spa like retreat. A double detached garage, an electric gated driveway and standing for several cars completes the line up of a very impressive and desirable house. The owners also have a fabulous holiday home in Mevagissey, which, subject to negotiations may be sold in conjunction to Myrtle Cottage. Further details and viewing bookings are available from estate agents Knight Frank.

ABBOTS LEIGH, BRISTOL

Knight Frank, Regent House, 27A Regent Street, Clifton, Bristol. Tel: 0117 317 1999

Guide Price: 1,050,000

www.thebristolmagazine.co.uk

• Drawing Room • Dining Room • Sitting Room • Master Bedroom with en suite Shower Room • 3 further Bedrooms • Separate self contained 2 bedroom annexe • Swimming Pool • Hot Tub • Covered Koi Carp Pond

April 2013

The Bristol Magazine 97

PURCHASE YOUR OWN OFFICES IN CLIFTON VILLAGE – JUST £350,000

This iconic view of Royal York Crescent from the offices units

Rarely can you purchase your offices in Clifton Village, let alone modern open plan units… Clifton Village is a highly sought after office location, offering easy access to the City Centre, yet providing a superb working environment and an array of amenities within walking distance. Burston Cook have just been instructed to market for sale three prime office units within a modern purpose-built office building at 58 Royal York Crescent. Julian Cook of Burston Cook comments, “The first and second floor units each comprise approximately 1,760 sq ft, a very efficient open-plan floor space which can be easily partitioned to meet a purchaser’s specific layout needs. Each floor is offered for sale, much like purchasing a residential apartment and therefore, it is very rare for such opportunities to arise in this particular location. The offices provide contemporary, light and airy accommodation with the most fantastic views across the city and encompassing the iconic view along Royal York Crescent itself. This view is much photographed and has been the subject of artists for many years and yet 58 Royal York Crescent is one of only very few buildings where you can enjoy this spectacular aspect.” Each floor is accessed via a contemporary entrance with a passenger lift leading to all floors. In addition, there is a ground floor suite which is also currently used as offices, but would suit other commercial uses. Each floor is available for sale at a price of just £350,000. Julian Cook continues: “In terms of value for money, now is an excellent time to invest 58 Royal York Crescent in purchasing your own office and if purchased through your own pension fund vehicle, this can prove to be a very tax-efficient means of investing for the future…Why pay rent to a landlord when you can purchase your own space!” “We are very excited to be handling the marketing of 58 Royal York Crescent and we genuinely anticipate receiving good interest from occupiers and investors alike.” For further information or an appointment to view, please contact the sole selling agents, Burston Cook.

Please telephone Julian Cook FRICS Jayne Rixon MRICS or Andrew Oliver MRICS or Finola Ingham MRICS (0117) 934 9977 Burston Cook April.indd 1

(0117) 934 9977 19/03/2013 14:23

Bristol & Clifton’s premier Commercial Property Agents Keep up-to-date with our latest news and market comments at our website: www.burstoncook.co.uk

(0117) 934 9977

141 WHITELADIES ROAD

BRISTOL CITY CENTRE

Contemporary office suite giving an open layout with 2 car spaces.

From c. 787 sq ft to 3,582 sq ft. MODERN STYLE OFFICES WITH PASSENGER LIFT

New lease - £13.50 psf

New lease - £8.95 psf

CLIFTON DOWN HOUSE WHITELADIES ROAD, BS8

CLIFTON VILLAGE, CLIFTON, BRISTOL

4,906 sq ft modern open plan office suite with 13 car spaces.

A prime open plan Clifton office suite. FANTASTIC VIEWS – from 1,750 - 4,000 sq ft.

New lease - £14 psf

New lease - £13.95 psf

33 THE MALL, CLIFTON

WESTBURY ON TRYM *BUSINESS UNAFFECTED*

CLIFTON VILLAGE SHOP

Shop for sale in busy neighbourhood

Established busy location. 340 sq ft sales.

1,122 sq ft

New lease – Affordable rent

PRICE - £220,000

TRIANGLE – CLIFTON

164-166 WELLS ROAD, BRISTOL

Large shop of c 1,540 sq ft – Busy road frontage in established location.

Very prominent large shop of c.1,182 sq ft and 6 forecourt car spaces.

New lease.

Only 15,000 pax

Competitive rent.

FREEHOLD FOR SALE

ST PHILIPS, BRISTOL INDUSTRIAL UNIT

LONGWELL GREEN RETAIL PARK

A modern industrial unit with high office content totaling 8,011 sq ft.

RARE opportunity to purchase offices of 3,258 sq ft on 0.31 acres

New lease.

£350,000

• • • • Julian Cook

Jayne Rixon

Andrew Oliver

Finola Ingham

FRICS

MRICS

Burston Cook April.indd 2

Sales /Lettings Acquisitions advice Valuations Landlord & tenant

• • • •

Rent reviews Development advice Investments Dilapidations

(0117) 934 9977 19/03/2013 14:18

www.maggsandallen.co.uk

0117 949 9000 60 Northumbria Drive, Henleaze, Bristol, BS9 4HW

LANDLORDS... Are you seeking TOTAL peace of mind from your agent? Maggs & Allen have an extensive portfolio of managed properties throughout the Bristol area. As an independent agency we strive to meet your expectations, offering full property management, tenant find only service or a tailor made package to suit your needs.

Please contact us today to discuss your requirements or to arrange a rental appraisal of your property.

0117 949 9000

Lettings & Management

lettings@maggsandallen.co.uk www.maggsandallen.co.uk

Estate Agents

Maggs & Allen April.indd 1

Lettings & Management

Auctioneers

New Homes

Chartered Surveyors

Commercial/ Investment

Energy Assessors

18/03/2013 11:30

Alexander May April:Layout 1

18/3/13

11:24

Page 1

Westbury on Trym branch: 01179 500 118 25 Canford Lane, Westbury on Trym, Bristol, BS9 3DQ

W ION NE UCT TR S IN

Royal Victoria Park

£585,000

Situated in an enviable position, backing onto protected woodland. Large (in excess of 2700 sq ft) detached family home over three floors. Excellent condition, living room, second reception with glazed atrium ceiling, plus kitchen/dining room. Five double bedrooms, four bath/shower rooms (two en-suite) utility room, cloaks, integral double garage. Front and rear gardens, double width driveway. No onward chain. EPC C

£405,000

Set back from this popular sought after road this super 1930’s semi detached property, with four bedrooms is on the market for the first time in over 50-years. In need of general modernisation it is sure to appeal to those looking for a spacious house with the scope to add their own mark to this much loved family home. A generous garden enjoying views and a single garage are also an added bonus! EPC D

Offers In Excess of £650,000

Large detached family home in an excellent location in Henleaze. Recently completed extension providing a very impressive kitchen/dining/family room, two further reception rooms, wc, large utility room, four bedrooms and a family bathroom. Further benefits include GCH and double glazing. Front and rear gardens, driveway. Under-house cellar rooms. EPC D

Dundry

£795,000

Glenside Farm occupies a fabulous situation in a rural but not isolated area, with outstanding views over Bristol and surrounding countryside. This delightful farmhouse, build c1927, has been the subject of much improvement and renovation by the current owners over the years, creating the superb, much loved family home it is today. Offering five bedrooms, Four reception rooms, three bathrooms, farmhouse style kitchen-dining room, outbuildings, sitting in c4 acres with an optional 2.25 acre paddock to purchase. EPC D

W ION NE UCT R T NS

Westbury On Trym

Long Ashton

W ION NE UCT TR S IN

Henleaze

Long Ashton branch: 01275 393 956 50 Weston Road, Long Ashton, Bristol, BS41 9HH

£430,000

Situated at the head of a cul-de-sac, extended semi-detached family home in a sought after location. Entrance porch, hall, living room, dining room opening into the conservatory and kitchen, and wc to the ground floor. Four bedrooms, a family bathroom and a separate shower room are spread over the upper floors. Double glazing and GCH. Driveway, attached garage, good sized rear garden. EPC D

Wraxall

£625,000

Originally a Threshing Barn, Quarry Farm Barn is a spectacular tucked away barn conversion, with outstanding countryside views from the majority of the property. It was converted some 12years ago and has since been refurbished and extended by the current owners who had the vision and the expertise to create a substantial character home, enriched with all the modern day conveniences yet still managed to retain the original integrity and preserve the historic character and beauty of the property. EPC C

www.alexandermay.co.uk

Ocean fp April:Layout 1

19/3/13

17:48

Page 1

Coombe Dingle

£400,000 Westbury on Trym

Sold subject to contract, similar properties required. This four bedroom family home benefits from of street parking for two cars along with a garage. Inside there is a modern fitted kitchen, two reception rooms, four bedrooms, a family bathroom, shower room and ensuite. Within easy reach of the Blaise Castle Estate.

£350,000 Coombe Dingle

Extensively refurbished to a high standard and located in the highly sought after Westbury on Trym C of E schools' area of prime responsibility, 140 Falcondale Road is available with no onward chain, offering three bedrooms, two reception rooms, enclosed rear garden and off street parking for three cars.

£325,000

Sold subject to contract, similar properties required. A bright and spacious detached family home, double bay fronted and with a central hallway, ‘Elberton House' is a fine example of a characterful dwelling close to all of the local amenities, tranquil walks and public transport links that Coombe Dingle offers its residents.

Westbury-on-trym 0117 962 1973 • westburysales@oceanhome.co.uk

Royal Victoria Park

£310,000 Coombe Dingle

Built in 1802, Repton Hall is the location of this stunning two bedroom ground floor apartment. With open reception space, spacious kitchen, off street park, communal grounds and walled garden. The grandeur of the building and surroundings allow for a peace escape of the hustle and bustle of Bristol, but allowing it all to remain in easy reach.

£250,000 Brentry

This quaint terraced cottage offers an ideal mix of period features and modern comforts. With two bedrooms, two reception rooms, a modern fitted kitchen and feature fireplaces and sash windows. This property is beautifully presented throughout and within easy reach of the heart of Westbury on Trym Village.

wills and probate

£250,000

A beautifully presented modern end terrace townhouse which features smart contemporary decor throughout. This four bedroom home is arranged principally over three floors and comprises living room with 'Juliette balcony, 'L' shaped kitchen/ diner and cloakroom, three bedrooms and family bathroom, topped off with a master suite, with ensuite shower room.

w n Ne ctio ru t Ins

Westbury on Trym

£275,000 Henbury

This three bedroom, semi-detached family home, located in the quiet surroundings of Coombe Dingle, boasts off street parking and a south facing garden. With far reaching views through timber framed double glazing, the property is the ideal mix of light and quiet. With extensive storage thanks to a garage, loft and basement.

£239,000 Westbury on Trym

The larger than average three bedroom linked detached home is nestled on a quiet crescent in Brentry. With ample off street parking for at least three cars along with a garage space this property offers substantial living space and the potential the adapt the property to your individual needs, this property makes for the ideal family home.

European legal services

£190,000

This two bedroom ground floor apartment with a garage has been completely refurbished throughout. Located within level access of the shops and local amenities of Stoke Lane and the public spaces of Canford Park and Stoke Lodge, this property is ideally positioned to make the most of what Westbury on Trym has to offer.

property lawyers

Ocean fp April:Layout 1

Cotham

19/3/13

09:42

Page 2

£234,950 Redland

A conveniently situated two double bedroom first floor flat close to Bristol Uni and St Michaels Hill with a good sized living room, separate kitchen/dining room and off-street parking space. There is the added bonus of being within the kingsdown residents parking permit area and eligible for a permit

£274,950 Baltic Wharf

Tuscany house was built circa 1850 and this first floor apartment offers beautiful views across to the Downs and spacious accommodation including lounge/diner with bay window, separate modern kitchen with many integral appliances, two double bedrooms and a stunning refitted bathroom, well kept communal gardens and a garage.

£304,950

Stylish waterside living is on offer with this fabulous townhouse! The accommodation presented over three floors consists modern kitchen/diner, lounge, two double bedrooms, bathroom, en-suite and cloakroom. Externally the property further benefits from an off street parking space directly outside the front door and a 26'10 x 20'1 garden with a southerly aspect.

Clifton 0117 946 6007 • cliftonsales@oceanhome.co.uk

Clifton

£314,950 Redland

A beautiful two double bedroom first floor balcony apartment set within the highly sought after Royal York Crescent. This stunning property has been thoughtfully updated to a high standard by the current owners whilst retaining many original features including doors, windows, window shutters and fireplaces.

Redland

£394,950 Golden Hill

A three bedroom mid terraced home on the desirable Metford Road close to Redland Green Secondary School with a pleasant 63’ lawned garden. Accommodation comprises open plan reception rooms and a separate kitchen to the ground floor and three bedroom and a bathroom to the first floor.

estate agents

£339,950 Redland

A wonderful opportunity to purchase this stunning link detached home with extremely light and spacious accommodation including three bedrooms, two with access to a courtyard, ensuite and bathroom on the ground floor. On the 1st floor there is an impressive open plan living and dining room with french doors to the upper terrace which is ideal for pleasant ‘alfresco’ dining experiences. The property also has an integral 17'10 x 9'4 garage.

£399,950 Redland

A superb opportunity for buyers looking for a spacious semi detached project, partially finished by the owners the property offers sizeable rooms including lounge, kitchen/diner, reception 2/bedroom 4, three further bedrooms, cloakroom, bathroom and two useful loft area's with far reaching views at the rear. Externally there are front and rear gardens, the rear garden has a southerly aspect, and off street parking for two cars.

letting agents

surveyors

£344950

An attractive three double bedroom apartment in Belvedere Road. Presented over the whole of the 1st floor this wonderful period apartment offers well laid out accommodation including a 21'2 x 15'11 lounge/diner, separate kitchen, bathroom and an en-suite shower room. The location is a real plus with its ease of access to the Downs, Whiteladies Road and local transport links

£750,000

A substantial period investment property situated in a desirable part of Redland currently laid out as seven apartments. There is 4 x studio apartments, 2 x one bedroom apartments and a two double bedroom apartment on the top floor.

mortgage brokers

CJ Hole April.indd 2

18/03/2013 11:50

Horfield

Bishopston

This renovated Victorian property, in a culde-sac location which backs onto Horfield Common offers a bay fronted lounge, dining room open to modern fitted kitchen, two bedrooms and a modern bathroom. The property benefits from gas central heating and double glazing. Further benefits include an enclosed rear garden. EPC – TBC

This period home has been enhanced in many ways. In brief, there is a formal living room with bay window to the front aspect, a large dining room and opening through to the extended kitchen with a study located to the rear of the kitchen. With two double bedrooms and the large bathroom comprising the new four piece white suite. EPC – D

A charming period ground floor garden flat boasting an array of original features throughout. Accommodation in brief comprises a large bay fronted lounge with a working log burner, kitchen/breakfast room, two bedrooms and a large courtyard style garden to the rear. Ideally situated on this mature tree lined road close to Gloucester road. EPC – D

£285,000

£275,000

£215,000

Westbury Park

Henleaze

This detached family home boasts fantastic character throughout including a welcoming hallway, three receptions all with dual aspect, kitchen/breakfast room with bay and French doors onto veranda, five bedrooms with extensive views and a family bathroom. The property also benefits from a 21m West facing lawned family garden, workshop to cellar and private driveway. EPC – F

Edwardian family home positioned close to Coldharbour Road shops and amenities and within close proximity to Redland Green Secondary School and Westbury Park, Bishop Road and Henleaze Infant and Junior Schools. Property briefly comprises three receptions, four bedrooms, master with dressing room and additional shower room, along with family bathroom and detached garage. EPC – E

Superbly presented 1930’s semi-detached family home offers; two reception rooms, front with bay window and feature fireplace and the rear extended dining room providing access to a 20m southerly facing garden, extended kitchen/dining room, three bedrooms and bathroom with heated flooring. Positioned in the popular South Croft, Henleaze. EPC – E

Price: £685,000

CJ Hole April.indd 1

Price: £475,000

Price: £399,950

18/03/2013 11:32

Bristol prop snippets APril:Layout 1

20/3/13

11:06

Page 1

BRISTOLproperty BISHOP ROAD, BISHOPSTON Located in the prime family residential area of Bishopston, this 1930s semi-detached property is perfectly positioned to access many of the exemplary schools in the area. Spacious accommodation, briefly comprising entrance vestibule, hallway, bay fronted lounge, a formal dining room and a separate fitted kitchen. On the first floor are three good proportioned bedrooms and a bathroom. Outside is a driveway providing off street parking, a garage and a rear south facing garden. Guide price £425,000

▲

Contact CJ Hole, Bishopston office Tel: 0117 923 2888

HENLEAZE PARK DRIVE, HENLEAZE

This is an extended 1920s detached family home on the sought after Henleaze Park Drive. Close to many good schools, the property benefits from four bedrooms, two reception rooms, and a magnificent extended kitchen/dining/family room. Outside there’s a good size rear garden, a useful cellar and underhouse storage space. To the front, convenient off street parking space. Guide Price £650,000 - £675,000

Contact Alexander May estate agents. Tel: 0117 950 0118

▲

CLEVEDON, NORTH SOMERSET,

This grand, detached Edwardian property nestles between two climbing woods to offer a pleasant and secluded position. Substantial and versatile accommodation will appeal to many viewers who are looking to modernise a period home into a premium family property. Currently arranged to feature five receptions on the ground floor and five double bedrooms on the first floor. Large meandering grounds to the rear with gated access to the front. Guide price £575,000

▲

Contact Maggs and Allen estate agents. Tel: 0117 949 9000

SHIPLEY ROAD, WESTBURY ON TRYM

Superbly presented and extended semi-detached family home now offers two receptions, with the rear reception leading to a modern conservatory and access to south facing landscaped garden. Upstairs there are four family sized bedrooms including extension and family bathroom. Further benefits include ample parking, garage. The property is positioned within a quiet cul-de-sac and is within the APR for Westbury-on-Trym C of E Primary School, close to local village shops and amenities. Price: £475,000

Contact CJ Hole (Henleaze office) Tel: 0117 962 9221

106 The Bristol Magazine

April 2013

Property Concept April:Layout 5

18/3/13

11:32

Page 106

MANAGEMENT • SALES • LETTING • CONSULTANCY

Overlooking Brandon Hill

£774,950

This delightful house, stylishly presented throughout, offers the best of all Worlds, beautiful views of the green open space of Brandon Hill and yet is very conveniently located within easy access of Park Street, Queens Road and Clifton Village. The well-proportioned accommodation is over four floors and incorporates on the lower ground floor a good size garage and guest bedroom with en suite bathroom, the ground floor has a large family kitchen, dining room with access to the garden, and a very pretty room currently used as a library. On the first floor is a stunning sitting room with panoramic views of Brandon Hill, two further double bedrooms and the second floor has a flexible space currently used as a fourth bedroom and study. To the rear of the property is a delightful garden, an ideal space for al fresco living. Houses in this location are very sought after as they rarely come to the market, they offer an enviable lifestyle for those wanting the convenience of urban living yet retain period charm and the all important extra benefits of outside space and a garage. Energy rating = F

Temple Quay £287,500 NEW HOME. This stunning first floor apartment, formally the show flat, is set within the architecturally iconic Eye development, with its unique curving shaped exterior sitting alongside Temple Quay within walking distance of The City Centre and Bristol Temple Meads Station. The accommodation includes a spacious kitchen /sitting room with a curved wall of floor to ceiling windows affording wonderful views of the ever changing water vista below and two double bedrooms again with water views. There is an en-suite to the master bedroom and a separate bathroom. Being sold with no onward chain, the show flat furniture and contents are available by separate negotiation and parking is available locally on a lease basis. This is a property with a true “wow” factor and early viewing is strongly recommended. Energy rating = C

Harbourside £172,500 A very stylish, light and airy third floor apartment in sought after Steamship House. Built on the site of Isambard Kingdom Brunel's original steamship works this purpose built development sits adjacent to the SS Great Britain and enjoys an enviable location on the waterfront with cafes, restaurants and the newly opened M Shed Museum within easy walking distance. Clifton Village, the City Centre and all major transport links are easily accessible. The accommodation, which is being sold with no onward chain, incorporates a large kitchen/sitting room with two balconies with amazing views of the waterfront, a good sized double bedroom and a bathroom. This apartment was built to a high specification and would make an ideal first purchase and a full rental history is available. Energy rating = C

21 Princess Victoria Street

Tel 0117 970 6119

enquiries@propertyconcept.co.uk

Clifton, Bristol BS8 4BX

Fax 0117 970 6109

www.propertyconcept.co.uk

Hamptons Bristol Sales. 0117 322 6362 bristol@hamptons-int.com Beyond your expectations www.hamptons.co.uk

ON W I T NE UC TR S IN

Redland, Bristol A large well-presented semi-detached family house with off-street parking and a 65’ south/west facing rear garden. It offers a master suite with en suite bathroom, 3 further bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 4 reception rooms and a generous walled rear garden with stone built shed. EPC rating D

Guide price £795,000 • 4 Bedrooms • 2 Bathrooms • 3 Reception rooms • Kitchen/dining room • Off-street parking • West facing walled garden

Bristol Office 0117 322 6362 bristol@hamptons-int.com

Hamptons Sales April.indd 1

18/03/2013 11:33

Hamptons Bristol Sales. 0117 322 6362 bristol@hamptons-int.com Beyond your expectations www.hamptons.co.uk

ON W I NE UCT TR S IN

Abbots Leigh, Bristol Abbots Leigh House is a prominent and spectacular property. It occupies a commanding position in the sought after enclave of Abbots Leigh, a moment’s drive from Clifton. Originally constructed in the late 18th century as the Dower House to Leigh Court, it is set in magnificent, well-maintained grounds of over 7 acres. EPC rating F

Guide price £2,995,000 • 7 Bedrooms • 5 Bathrooms • 6 Reception rooms • Independent 2 bedroom coach house • Several outbuildings including stables • Totalling about 7.3 acres

Bristol Office 0117 322 6362 bristol@hamptons-int.com

Hamptons Sales April.indd 2

18/03/2013 11:34

Leese & Nagle April.indd 1

18/03/2013 11:43

Stoke Bishop Guide Price £750,000

A spacious four bedroom individual detached family house set on a level quarter acre plot with 125ft long rear garden that enjoys a south west aspect. The house provides deceptively spacious accommodation comprising a very large plan living room which opens onto the rear garden, kitchen and cloakroom. Upstairs the bedrooms extend over the double garage and are very spacious. Plenty of parking and set well back from the road.

Westbury-on-Trym £425,000

Beautifully presented and extended 1930’s three bedroom semi detached family house positioned literally around the corner from Elmlea Schools. The house offer a lovely open plan kitchen/living/dining area opening onto the rear garden, a formal sitting room and cloakroom. Upstairs are three bedrooms with we feel potential for a loft conversion. Attractive rear garden and off street parking.

Westbury-on-Trym £289,950

Three bedroom ‘Cornish’ style semi detached family home situated on The Dell, within two minute’s walk of desirable Elmlea schools. These houses make ideal family homes with three good sized bedrooms, open plan kitchen/diners, living room and this particular one boasting an sun room running across the rear. Good sized gardens, garage and drive parking.

Leese & Nagle April.indd 2

Stoke Bishop £495,000

A newly refurbished detached bungalow offering modern well proportioned and flexible accommodation on one floor. Lovely big open plan rear kitchen and living area with doors opening onto the manageable rear garden. Formal sitting room or fourth bedroom, three further bedrooms (one with en suite), family bathroom and cloakroom. Set well back from the road with long drive and parking. No onward chain. Early viewing advised.

Westbury-on-Trym £475,000

An extended 1930’s four bedroom semi detached house situated on a level plot in popular Abbey Road within a minute’s walk of Stoke Lane shops. The house has been recently redecorated throughout and provides comfortable family orientated accommodation. Open plan rear family area, sitting room, four bedrooms, two bathrooms. Large detached garden room, garage and off street parking.

Stoke Bishop - £359,950

Attractively presented 1950’s three bedroom semi-detached house within a few minute’s walk of Stoke Bishop primary school.The house has been extended on the ground floor to provide a larger kitchen opening onto the garden with adjoining dining area, utility and cloakroom. Potential for loft conversion, good size rear garden, garage and off street parking.

18/03/2013 11:47

Redland £845,000

Beautifully refurbished throughout in a modern contemporary style whilst retaining some lovely period features this six bedroom family home offers spacious accommodation suitable for expanding families. Three reception rooms, large kitchen/diner opening onto the rear garden. Master bedroom suite, three further bath/shower rooms. Off street parking for a ‘Golf’ sized car and the attractive residents only gardens of Clyde Park in front of the house.

Wotton-under-Edge £725,000

A very picturesque period family home standing in grounds of circa 1.4 acres. Large lounge with beamed ceiling, dining room, kitchen/breakfast room with hand built units, cloakroom and utility. Upstairs there are four large double bedrooms, family bathroom and shower room. Impressive mature gardens and small pony paddock.

Stoke Bishop £535,000

A lovely extended and much improved four bedroom 1930’s semi detached house in a desirable side road. The property provides family orientated accommodation of C.1800 sq/ft with 18ft kitchen/breakfast room, lounge/diner and sitting room. Four bedrooms and bathroom including a fantastic loft conversion with en suite. Landscaped rear garden, drive and garage.

Leese & Nagle April.indd 3

Westbury-on-Trym £499,950

A substantial detached double gabled 1920s 5 bedroom family home with gated parking, garage and good size level lawn rear garden within a few minute’s walk of Westbury village. Large sitting room, dining room, kitchen/breakfast room, pantry. Upstairs there are four double bedrooms (one en suite) and a smaller bedroom/study plus family bathroom.

Abbots Leigh £625,000

A modernised and improved 1930’s four bedroom detached house situated in sought after Abbots Leigh. The property occupies a generous plot comprising lovely large landscaped garden with far reaching backdrop views of the Severn Estuary. Formal sitting room, open plan dining and family room which runs through to the kitchen/breakfast room. Four bedrooms (2 en suites) and family bathroom. Good size gardens and garage.

Stoke Bishop £525,000

This is a spacious 5 Bedroom detached house built in the 1970’s. The house is both light and airy and outside there is secure parking to the front via a metal gated driveway and an enclosed comfortable size rear garden with patio bordering the house and lawn area. The home is within the Stoke Bishop Primary school APR and also the new Bristol Free School.

18/03/2013 11:48

Redland Guide Price £775,000

Spacious six bedroom Edwardian family home enjoying an excellent position overlooking Bristol tennis club and Redland Green. The house offers well proportioned family orientated rooms predominantly over two floors and benefits from a garden that enjoys afternoon and evening sun and has the benefit of a decent sized garage. Redland Green school is within five minutes walk.

Redland £650,000

An attractive red brick Edwardian family home situated in central Redland. The house offers 2 formal reception rooms, kitchen/breakfast room and cloakroom/shower room. The two upper floors provide five bedrooms and a family bathroom. Courtyard style garden to the rear and particularly attractive good size front garden with southerly aspect.

Cliftonwood £495,000

A delightful four bedroom mid terrace Victorian house with a good size rear garden and views towards Brandon Hill and Cabot tower. The flexible accommodation is arranged over four floors and comprises kitchen/breakfast room opening onto the garden. Two receptions rooms, four double bedrooms and a family bathroom. Within walking distance of the harbour, city and Clifton village.

Leese & Nagle April.indd 4

Redland Guide Price £750,000

A large Redland Victorian detached house requiring complete refurbishment. The house offers beautifully proportioned accommodation primarily over two floors with four reception rooms, centrally positioned kitchen and comprehensive cellars. Upstairs are five bedrooms and family bathroom. Centrally positioned on a good size plot with sunny aspect rear garden, drive to the side and garage.

Westbury Park £515,000

Attractively presented 4 bedroom 1950’s family house with a fabulous rear garden of approximately 90’ foot in length. Two reception rooms, one of which is extended and opens onto the rear garden, modern kitchen, garage incorporating utility and cloakroom. Four bedrooms (1 in loft with en suite shower room) and family bathroom. Off street parking for two cars to the front.

Clifton £339,950

A beautifully appointed 2 bedroom garden flat with private rear garden and two allocated parking spaces. The flat enjoys a lovely open plan feeling with the spacious living room, dining hall and kitchen all interconnecting. The main bedroom is a lovely size and overlooks the rear garden. The second is a guest sized double. Modern bathroom.Viewing advised.

18/03/2013 11:45

The Apartment Company April:Layout 3

Sneyd Park

18/3/13

11:35

Page 1

Offers in Excess of ÂŁ225,000

Popular Sneyd Park location | Walking distance to The Downs | Sitting/Dining Room | Kitchen | Bathroom & separate W.C. | 2 Bedrooms | Balcony | South West aspect | Garage & visitors parking | Energy Rating: C If you are looking for a spacious apartment with well proportioned rooms and stunning views, this fabulous apartment is the one for you! The accommodation briefly comprises; an open plan sitting/dining room with a balcony which overlooks the Avon Gorge and Leighwoods. A modern kitchen, bathroom, separate W.C., 2 double bedrooms. Outside the property benefits from well manicured communal gardens and a single garage.

Cliftonwood

Offers in Excess of ÂŁ155,000

Double Bedroom | Open-plan living room | Fitted Kitchen | Bathroom | Storage | Views | Communal Garden | Ideal investment property | Energy Rating: F A light and airy one bedroom apartment on the top floor of a substantial Victorian house with far-reaching views across the city and harbourside. The property is presented in good condition and is currently let to a single professional occupant and is therefore offered with no onward chain. There is a share of the communal garden to the rear of the property.

The Apartment Company April:Layout 3

Horfield

20/3/13

12:50

Page 2

Offers in Excess of £175,000

Ideal First Time Buy or an investment purchase | 2 Bedrooms | En-suite shower room | Open Plan Living Area | Kitchen | Bathroom | Allocated Parking Space | Small Balcony | Energy Rating: C This wonderful spacious apartment is situated just off the Gloucester Road and has plenty to offer. The property is light and airy throughout, with most rooms being of generous size. Allocated parking can be found to the front elevation with visitors parking available nearby.

Redland

Offers in Excess of £260,000

Private rear garden | Convenient location | Local railway station nearby | Period features | Two bedrooms | Living Room | Bathroom | Kitchen | Utility Room | No onward chain | Energy Rating: D This charming ground floor apartment with a private rear garden situated just off Whiteladies Road and within a few minutes’ walk of Clifton Down Shopping centre and railway station. The property has a contemporary kitchen and bathroom, the living room and bedrooms having a more traditional feel as they retain some period features of the Victorian era such as working shutters and an open fireplace. Full of character this is a cosy home ready to move into.

Ripples FP Bristol:Ripples-AprilShowers-FP.qxd

18/3/13

12:14

Page 1

SHOWER PRICES TAILORED FOR YOU. 2nd-30th April 2013 Whiteladies Road Clifton Bristol BS8 2QN Tel 0117 973 1144

Chelsea House London Road Bath BA1 6DB Tel 01225 447971

Award winning showrooms nationwide