The Bristol Magazine August 2022 by MC Publishing Limited

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Issue 213

AuGusT 2022

THEBRISTOLMAG.CO.UK

£3.95 where sold

BIRDGIRL

FLYING HIGH

Environmentalist Dr. Mya-Rose Craig talks new memoir, The Diana Award & why birdwatching is more than just a hobby

PLUS...

SO MUCH MORE IN THE CITY’S BIGGEST GUIDE TO LIVING IN BRISTOL

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Contents AUGUST 2022

60 8

CITYIST

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Meet Bristol’s new City Poet, Kat Lyons

10 BARTLEBY

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... reflects on the dog days of summer

12 FLYING HIGH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr Mya-Rose Craig talks her new memoir, Birdgirl

16 THE WORLD REIMAGINED

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Artist Michele Curtis on new national art education project

20 THE POWER OF THE SISTERHOOD

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Refugee Women of Bristol collaborate with Bristol illustrator

24 WHAT’S ON

50 LOVE TO LEARN

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Add another string to your bow and learn a new skill this summer

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Book your tickets! Great things to see and do across the city

56 NAUTICAL NOTES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Find joie de vivre in Seasalt Cornwall’s Summer 22 collection

30 DISHES OF DISCOVERY

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SS Great Britain treats the tastebuds to recipes from around the world

62 LOOKING BACK

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... at the market town of Thornbury and all that it has to offer

32 ARTS & EXHIBITIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What’s showing at our local galleries

36 ONES TO WATCH

64 PRINT RUN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The city’s interior designers let us in on how to feature patterns

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Gloucester Road Books look forward to five brilliant August releases

38 INTO THE WILD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

70 A CUT ABOVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elly West on the benefits of growing your own cut flowers

Bristol pupil ventures to Antarctica with the 2041 Foundation

40 FOOD & DRINK NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Plate expectations from the city’s foodie scene

48 MAKING AN IMPACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ON THE COVER Dr Mya-Rose Craig Photography: Stuart Simpson / Penguin Random House

Impact Mentoring on how it’s helping the city’s young people

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Bristol-based illustrator Niki Groom (below) and her work for Kimpton Fitzroy London Hotel (above right) and fashion designer Carolina Herrera (below right) Credit: Remco Merbis

from the

EDITOR

ur cover this month is bursting with the joyful tones of summer. Starring, of course, the brilliant Dr Mya-Rose Craig, an environmentalist, birder and diversity campaigner who has already filled her 20 short years with remarkable achievements. As the Cambridge undergrad releases her new memoir, Birdgirl – referring to the nickname she adopted at the launch of her popular blog almost 10 years ago – we had the pleasure of sitting down with Mya-Rose to chat birdwatching, The Diana Award and the exciting potential of the next generation. Read all about it on p.12. In other good news, Refugee Women of Bristol (RWoB) has teamed up with award-winning illustrator and former fashion designer Niki Groom at their annual dance event. As no cameras are allowed in the women-only space, Niki sketches live illustrations as the members come together to celebrate each other’s music and culture. With it being the first in-person dance since the pandemic began, the jubilation captured within the artwork is utterly palpable. It’s clear to see that the sisterhood at RWoB is without a doubt a powerful force of nature. This month, we speak to both the charity’s outreach worker Negat Hussein and Niki to find out more about their work and why the charity has a special place in their hearts (p.20). As we were putting the magazine together this month, it became evermore evident that pockets of pure joy are springing up all around the city, offering us moments of peaceful escape. We hope you’ll enjoy the read. See you next time...

Millie Bruce-Watt Follow us on:

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top things to do in August

Marvel Europe’s biggest hot air balloon event will once again feature over 100 balloons taking off at dawn and dusk across four days in August. What’s more, the famous Night Glows will return, lighting up the sky in time to a soundtrack provided by BBC Radio Bristol, followed by an exciting firework display. Visitors to Ashton Court Estate between 11 – 14 August can expect entertainment for all the family including aerial displays, fairground rides, delicious food stalls and bars, balloon tethering and demonstrations, model aircraft displays a local music stage, and so much more. The event is completely free with charges made for parking on the event site.

Get curious Following a fire on the roof at the beginning of April, We The Curious will be closed until at least January 2023. In the meantime, however, you can find the We The Curious team popping up at several larger events and festivals, as well as smaller groups and community centres throughout the summer, with activity subjects ranging from aliens to flowers, pirate treasure to robots. The team are also running regular free events every weekend on Anchor Square, right outside the front doors of We The Curious. • Find out more at: wethecurious.org

• Find out more at: bristolballoonfiesta.co.uk

Enjoy The popular annual Wiltshire Game & Country Fair is back with its usual blend of family and countryside entertainment. Enjoy all-day arena entertainment, featuring some of the countryside’s top attractions and organisations. Browse and wander around the trade stands, craft village and demonstration areas. Have a go at a range of country sports including clay shooting, archery and paintballing. There’s also lots to do for your dog including events and competitions so don’t leave them at home! • Find out more and book your tickets at: livingheritagecountryshows.com

Celebrate

The Bee and Pollination Festival returns this year on the earlier weekend of the August bank holiday (27 August to 28 August) at Bristol Botanical Gardens. This is a great place to learn about the vital role pollinators play in our lives, see demonstrations, exhibits, and talks, buy honey and see the Botanic Garden in all its finery. Tickets cost £11.

This summer is the final opportunity to visit Bristol Zoo Gardens before it closes on 3 September. The team will be celebrating the zoo’s 185-year history with a ‘BIG Summer Send-Off’ with activities and attractions designed by award-winning, Bristol-based theatrical events company, Bakehouse Factory. The centrepiece of the celebrations will be a giant interactive sculpture, Wilder the gorilla, and her baby Monty-Alan, which is sure to captivate visitors. As well as looking back on so many special moments and memories, these summer events will look to the future of the new Bristol Zoo, which will be created at sister site, Wild Place Project.

• Find out more at: botanic-garden.bristol.ac.uk

• Find out more at: bristolzoo.org.uk

Explore

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THE CITYist

BRISTOL Meet the new Bristol City Poet, Kat Lyons

Martian House arrives at M Shed A pioneering public art project that invites the public to help create the interior of a ‘Martian House’ (reflecting the real environmental challenges faced on Mars and inspiring new ideas about how we can all live more sustainably) is being built on M Shed Square as part of the ongoing public art project, Building a Martian House. Originally conceived by local artists and Watershed Pervasive Media Studio residents Ella Good and Nicki Kent, the project has so far brought together space scientists, architects, engineers, designers and the public to explore how we live today and stimulate visions for new ways of living here on Earth and on Mars. The house will open from 17 August with a three-month programme of workshops, talks and events for all ages. Ahead of that date the artists invite the people of Bristol to get involved and help co-design the interior. People can register their interest via the project website buildingamartianhouse.com. The opening will coincide with ‘Think Global: Act Bristol’, an M Shed exhibition that aims to foster positive action to address the climate and ecological crises. • Enjoy our full interview with Ella and Nicki from our December 2020 issue on our website now. Read more about the project at: bristolmuseums.org.uk Image: Visualisation of a house on Mars © PEARCE+ and Hugh Broughton Architects

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I first moved to Bristol in March 2013 and I lived in a pop-up tent in my mate’s concrete yard in Easton until I got myself sorted out. I love how easily you can escape out of the city to green places, and how the city feels like lots of little towns with separate personalities all squashed together. I’ve just moved house to Montpelier/St Pauls and am really enjoying exploring all the little side streets and shops in my new area. I’ve written poetry since I was little but only attended my first spoken word night in 2017 – I was hooked immediately! I started going to nights regularly and then I started performing and it just snowballed from there. I’ve been freelance for a few years now doing various sorts of performance and hosting events and workshops. I’m a strong believer that poetry should be accessible for anyone to write or enjoy or use to share their experiences. It always feels like such a gift to have the opportunity to create something that reaches other people and changes the world for them – even if just briefly. It’s quite a magical feeling, and as close to being a wizard as I can imagine. Being the next Bristol City Poet feels amazing, but also slightly intimidating – Miles, Vanessa and Caleb left me some big shoes to fill! I’m looking forward to making the role my own though, and asking questions about the city in my own particular way. I’d really like to explore experiences of mutual aid and community solidarity. Bristol is a beautiful city in many ways, but the things that make it so attractive can also contribute to gentrification and make it difficult for people to live here. The harbourside might draw someone for a visit, but it’s the conversations in their local cornershop or at the school gates that make up the fabric of their everyday lives, and all the little stories that make up the soul of a city. I wrote Dry Season after being diagnosed with premature menopause at 37. This experience was pretty intense and stressful, but the show ended up being quite funny, in the way that tough experiences often make good stories to tell later. It’s been amazing touring it – so many women have come up afterwards and shared their stories with me, and it felt like a real step up for my career. It will be touring again in the autumn. Having worked in hospitality for years, I think every bar and café worker should get a gold medal for dealing with drunk short-tempered summer crowds – I’d like to give them a shout-out this month.

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What with moving house and this intense heatwave I’ve been pretty tired and stressed recently, and when that happens I tend to decompress by re-reading fairytales and books I loved as a child. I’m also reading The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, which is an incredible speculative fiction novel set in a post-apocalyptic world that feels far too close to ours for comfort in places. I’m also addicted to the podcast Ologies – I love learning weird facts about science and the natural world, and sometimes little pieces of them resurface in poems later on. Eat Your Greens do the best (and hugest) vegan breakfast. The Hillgrove is my new local and is perfect for a quiet afternoon pint in the garden. And I always love going out to the Old Market Assembly to watch a show in the Wardrobe theatre or have cocktails with friends on their roof terrace. My mum died a few years ago – she always cooked loads for me so I’d love to be able to return the favour one last time. If I could invite the film star Mae West to the party too that would be great, as she seems like she’d be loads of fun to hang out with and could share lots of scandalous stories of old Hollywood stars. My philosophy in life is: be kind and remember to appreciate the small things. • The role of the City Poet runs for two years and is managed by Bristol Ideas in association with the Mayor’s Office; bristolideas.co.uk; katlyons.co.uk

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LOOK OUT FOR:

New collection launches at Harvey Nichols Bristol This summer, Harvey Nichols Bristol is inviting you to join the inclusive beauty movement with makeup created for all skin tones – why not get a summer glow with the limited edition Salute to the Sun collection, exclusively at Harvey Nichols now. Salute to the Sun is inspired by the absolute joy of summer, giving you glowing skin, a little glam and A LOT of drama. This collection is an ode to the sun; A homage to ancient Egypt, and the beauty rituals of its powerful female pharaohs. Get ready to unleash your inner goddess. • Available instore and online; harveynichols.com

Killing Eve writer signed for TV adaptation of Bristol-based thriller Bestselling crime novelist M. P. Wright is relaunching his highly acclaimed Windrush Noir Detective Series, with brand new editions and striking cover art by London artist Geoffrey Grandfield. This has come after Wilson Worldwide optioned screen rights for four of the Windrush novels, with the production company signing Killing Eve writer Isis Davis for the adaptation. The series, set between the 1960s and 1980s, follows Barbadian ex-cop Joseph Tremaine ‘JT’ Ellington as he reluctantly turns to private detective work after arriving in the UK. JT must unravel deadly conspiracies and corruptions within Bristol’s nightlife while trying to keep the ghosts of his own past at bay. The series explores attitudes towards race and the experiences of the Windrush generation alongside gripping noir crime. • Purchase the series at blackandwhitepublishing.com

New book packed full of fascinating facts

Thai cave divers receive honorary degrees Two cave divers who pulled off the remarkable rescue of 12 members of a junior football team and their assistant coach from a flooded cave system in Thailand have been given honorary degrees by the University of Bristol. The operation led by John Volanthen, from Bristol, and Rick Stanton, from Coventry, has been described as one of the greatest rescues of all time. The pair had to navigate 2.5km of constricted underwater passageways, in near zero visibility, against a fast flowing, debrisstrewn current. On 2 July 2018, nine days after the search started, the group were found. Over several hours the boys were guided out of the submerged cave by John, Rick and a team of cave divers. John and Rick both received George Medals (a non-military award for gallantry). John is an IT consultant, who remains a scout leader in his hometown of Long Ashton. Rick was a firefighter for West Midlands Fire Service for 25 years. • bristol.ac.uk

Know Bristol: A compendium of 365 Bristolian facts introduces 365 fascinating facts that will change your view of the city forever. From Ice Age hyenas to Roman fortresses, Victorian engineering to the Bristol Blitz, Know Bristol packs in a myriad of facts and figures that will change your view of the city forever. Did you know that Pennsylvania is named after a Bristolian? And English pirate Blackbeard lived in Redcliffe? Have you climbed England’s steepest street in Totterdown, walked the remains of a Roman road on the Downs or boarded the world’s oldest tug boat in the Docks? Have you seen the seven species of trees that are unique to Bristol, or noticed invasive wall lizards in the Avon Gorge? Grab a copy of Ashley Coates’ new book and get exploring! • Know Bristol is available in Kindle, paperback and hardback at various places including waterstones.com

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THE

B R I S TO L

MAGAZINE

Dog days of summer

hen I was growing up, the idea of grilling sausages in a city park would have seemed, well, weird. If you wanted something fancy like a chicken drumstick for a picnic you made it the evening before, put it in the fridge, then transported it in a sturdy old-fashioned Tupperware. By the time you came to eat the chicken it would have warmed nicely to a tasty room temperature. The main reason why people didn’t turn their local park into a giant mixed-grill-production-facility every weekend was simple: the portable burn-and-bin barbecue hadn’t been invented yet. If you wanted to cook outdoors you had to do it old school style, with an actual fire that you allowed to burn down to the embers before cooking. To do this in a civic park in the 1970s would have aroused the ire of the park-keeper (remember them?). Besides cooking over a fire is a skill that takes some honing. We ran out of camping gas on Dartmoor once and decided to survive a few days using only old-fashioned fire. The results were mixed. Early morning tea was reborn as late morning tea, but after a while we became adept at judging the quantity of wood needed to produce enough heat to, say, boil water for pasta. It’s about sustained heat, we discovered, which requires not only the right amount of wood but also the right type. Ash is a lovely slowburning wood, which made the tree popular among people who worked with fire in the days before gas. Ash die-back would have been catastrophic to a 19th century country blacksmith. Actually there were intrepid souls (we’re in the 1970s again now) who manufactured their own portable barbecues. A biscuit tin with holes poked in the bottom worked pretty well, but then of course you had to contend with 20th century barbecue briquettes, which required great skill to light and keep lit. Or failing that a good glug of petrol from the portable plastic container we always seemed to have in the car. They were elegant things, those briquettes, smooth and rounded, but they were the source of much familial strife back in the days of the Ford Cortina. Traditionally Dad would be in charge of the grilling, while Mum did everything else. Cue calls from the kitchen: ‘Are we about ready to cook out there?’ ‘Nearly!’ comes the cheerful response from Dad, who has spent the previous hour working his way through a large jug of Pimms. Redfaced from the sun, he now belatedly begins firing up the grill. Into a mound of charcoal he inserts half a dozen firelighters, then douses the pile in paraffin. One match – whouf! – up it goes. After a few minutes, however, the resilient non-flammability of the briquettes asserts itself and the flames die down, forcing Dad to – as he put it – go nuclear. Out comes the heat gun. Designed for removing wallpaper. Repurposed as a sort of flamethrower. So there’s Dad, red-faced, letting the charcoal have it with both barrels, observed curiously by a pair of toddlers. ‘Is that thing safe?’ enquires Mum, as she emerges from the house laden with chops and sausages. ‘Should the children be so close?’ ‘Perfectly fine,’ Dad replies through gritted teeth, as the flames rise higher. Obviously with this kind of set-up, barbecuing in the park was not an option. Nowadays by contrast you simply buy a burn-and-bin, and a box of matches, and away you go. This free and easy grilling gives the park a curiously old-fashioned air of a summer evening, as fragrant smoke rises here and there among the groups of picnickers. For a dog who likes to scavenge, as ours does, it’s a particularly joyous time of year. Like most dogs he thinks all those sausages and chicken skewers are being cooked just for him. Which, occasionally, turns out to be the case. There are few happier beings on earth than a dog with a stolen sausage. ■

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The Bristol Magazine is published by MC Publishing Ltd. An independent publisher. Every month The Bristol Magazine is hand delivered to more than 15,000 homes in selected areas. We also deliver direct to companies and businesses across the city. Additionally there are many places where we have floor-stands and units for free pick-up:

The Bristol Magazine Tel: 0117 974 2800 www.thebristolmagazine.co.uk © MC Publishing Ltd 2022

2 Princes Buildings, George Street, Bath BA1 2ED Disclaimer: Whilst every reasonable care is taken with all material submitted to The Bristol Magazine, the publisher cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage to such material. Opinions expressed in articles are strictly those of the authors. This publication is copyright and may not be reproduced in any form either in part or whole without written permission from the publishers.

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Credit: Stuart Simpson / Penguin Random House 12 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Flying

high

As Dr Mya-Rose Craig – aka Birdgirl – releases her new memoir, we sit down with the 20-year-old environmentalist to look back at all that she has accomplished and all that is yet to come...

efore it even hit the shelves last month, Dr Mya-Rose Craig’s new memoir Birdgirl was dubbed as one of the most anticipated environmental reads of the year and eloquently described as “lyrical, poignant and insightful” by author Margaret Attwood (The Handmaid’s Tale). An accomplishment, I’m sure, that came as no surprise to most, given Craig’s track record. The 20-year-old British-Bangladeshi ornithologist, environmentalist and diversity campaigner is remarkable in many ways. She is the youngest person to have ever set eyes on five thousand different birds – half of the world’s species; the youngest British person to be awarded an honorary degree, which she received from the University of Bristol at the age of 17, and the world record-holder for organising the most-northerly climate strike on an Arctic ice cap – an incredible feat that she undertook at 18.

[When I was nine-days-old] we went to see the Lesser Kestrel in the Isles of Scilly and my parents have this lovely picture of very newborn me with my eye pressed up against a telescope. When I say I have been birding forever, I mean it.

What’s more, just days after the release of her memoir – a mindful, reflective and uplifting account of a life devoted to avian observation – Craig was presented with The Diana Award, one of the highest accolades a young person can achieve for social action. She was recognised for her work with award-winning social enterprise Black2Nature, which she founded in 2015 to campaign for equal access for marginalised communities. Presented by Prince Harry at a virtual ceremony for the only charity that carries his mother’s name, he honoured Craig alongside 180 changemakers and young philanthropists from 29 countries. “It was a big surprise,” Craig said with a tone of bewilderment still lingering in her voice. “I can’t even put it into words, it was so unexpected. I didn’t even know I had been nominated.” When I sat down with Craig, who was in the midst of a press tour after just finishing her first year exams at Cambridge University where she studies Human, Social and Political Sciences, she said her month had been “quite bonkers”. A stark contrast to

2020, which, for Craig – and millions of other school leavers – was supposed to be filled with exciting opportunities in faraway places. Instead, the pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns kept her indoors at her home in Chew Valley. It was while she was there that she decided to pen her memoir. Somehow, in no way bitter about her thwarted plans, the twitcher explains that she very much enjoyed the writing process. “It was actually a really lovely experience because there’s so much about travel and birds from around the world in the book; it felt as though I was still travelling while locked in my house.” Birdgirl – which refers to the nickname the author adopted when she started her popular blog of the same name in 2013 – details Craig’s unconventional childhood, her incredible birding adventures with her family and her life-long love for birds that, for Craig, was cemented at nine-days-old. “We went to see the Lesser Kestrel in the Isles of Scilly and my parents have this lovely picture of very new-born me with my eye pressed up against a telescope. When I say I have been birding forever, I mean it.” Craig brilliantly recounts her experiences from all four corners of the globe, sharing the moment when she first saw a Yellow-headed Picathartes in Ghana and a Spoon-billed Sandpiper in the Bolivian Amazon. Throughout the book, she details the unique qualities of the birds she’s seen, pairing them with beautiful illustrations. As the book continues, however, it becomes evident that Craig’s trips were more than just satisfying a hobby. The family didn’t know it at the time but Craig’s mother had bipolar; a diagnosis that wasn’t given for many years. Craig writes: “Was she always going to be like this: energetic, happy and essentially Mum one week or month or year, and despondent, unfocused and miserable the next?” I wonder how it was for Craig to write about her family and their journey. “It was while I was sketching out the plans for the book when I realised that it was going to become much more personal and family-oriented than I originally realised. I sat down and talked to my mum and dad about it and asked them, how would you feel if I put all of this stuff about us in the book. I think my mum in particular was really enthusiastic in that she felt that telling a very honest, raw story would be really important and really helpful. “Something that was important to me as I wrote the book was that her mental illness wasn’t portrayed as this terrible awful thing; it’s just something that’s part of our lives. It’s not about us finding this magical cure and living happily ever after, it’s just about us as a family learning to deal with it and doing so quite successfully through birdwatching and the healing power of nature. “At first, we weren’t consciously using birds to help ourselves, it was just our hobby. Just before my mum was sectioned when she was quite unwell and we went away to Ecuador, I think my dad had THEBRISTOLMAG.CO.UK

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

“It’s not about us finding this magical cure and living happily ever after, it’s just about us as a family learning to deal with it and doing so quite successfully through birdwatching and the healing power of nature.”

Credit: Oliver Edwards

this light bulb moment where he realised that this really helps us, this is really good for us and he started making much more of a conscious effort to use birdwatching as a way to help us as a family.” In terms of looking back at the early days of Black2Nature, a Visible Minority Ethnic (VME)-led charity that Craig set up when she was 14, running nature camps, organising race equality conferences and campaigning to make the nature sectors ethnically diverse, Craig says her rising popularity all seemed quite normal at the time. Her thoughts today: “That was crazy,” she says with a laugh. Research has shown that 40% of people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) and Visible minority Ethnic (VME) backgrounds live in places which are the most green space-deprived in England. Craig has previously stated that the nature sector is two or three decades behind in terms of diversity. I wonder whether her memoir offered an opportunity to look back at how far society has come in the seven years since she launched Black2Nature? “I think it’s still very behind in a lot of ways but it is slowly getting better,” she explains. “That was one of the nice things about writing the book because actually, looking back, things have changed a bit more than I thought they had. I think there’s still a massive way to go and they’re still incredibly behind in terms of diversity and engagement but the biggest change has been in attitude. “When I started, people were incredibly resistant to what I was talking about in terms of highlighting the fact that there was racism within these spaces. I think that made a lot of people really uncomfortable. Now, especially post-George Floyd’s death, which I 14 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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think was a big reckoning for some people in terms of their own relationship with racism, it feels like there’s been a lot of attitudinal change.” An attitudinal change that has been driven by the next generation of leaders, perhaps. I ask Craig, who spoke alongside Greta Thunberg at College Green when thousands of Bristol students skipped school for the climate strikes, stepped on stage with Billie Eilish at her climate-focused event Overheated, and joined Emma Watson at COP26, whether she is optimistic about the future. “There is this narrative that young people don’t care about things and it’s not true – I’ve never seen people more passionate than the young people I know who are engaged in the climate movement. They are giving their whole lives to try and make this planet slightly better and slightly healthier. I think young people are incredibly passionate and they have made such a difference already. I think back to the climate movement pre-Greta Thunberg and pre-Youth Strike 4 Climate and it was just a completely different world – climate change just wasn’t major in the way that it is now. “It is so exciting seeing various people use their platforms to try and evoke change. It’s exciting; it feels like it’s a time for change. I feel incredibly privileged to have been given these opportunities.” Birdgirl is packed with beautifully written anecdotes and carefully crafted reflections on life. Poignantly, Craig writes: “Birdwatching has never felt like a hobby, or a pastime I can pick up and put down, but a thread running through the pattern of my life, so tightly woven in that there's no way of pulling it free and leaving the rest of my life intact.” Asked what it is like to find such joyful moments of escape throughout days spent in concrete jungles, she tells me: “I am literally watching birds out of my window right now. It is something that I’m always doing. Part of the reason why I love birds is that they are everywhere. As soon as you start looking, you’ll see something flying around. I am constantly watching birds and constantly thinking about them – it’s a really lovely way to live your life.” Whether you’re a bird fanatic or just enjoy watching the gull chicks fly the nest on a neighbouring roof, the book is accessible for all. As my conversation with Birdgirl comes to a close, I know one thing is for sure; not all heroes wear capes. n • Birdgirl by Dr Mya-Rose Craig is available to buy at all good bookshops

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“Inspiring beyond

imagination”

The World Reimagined is set to be one of the largest art education projects for racial justice the UK has ever seen. Commissioned artists are bringing to life the reality and impact of the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans through trails of large globe sculptures, aiming to stimulate dialogue, raise consciousness and create social change. Here, we take a closer look and speak to local commissioned artist Michele Curtis about her inspiration, creation and hopes for the next generation...

his month, The World Reimagined – a ground-breaking, vibrant art education project that aims to transform how we understand the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans and its impact on all of us – will launch trails of large globe sculptures across seven cities across the UK including Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool City Region, London and Swansea. From 13 August – 31 October, 103 sculptures will bring to life the reality and impact of the Transatlantic Trade, inviting the public to engage with the dialogue and actions of making racial justice a reality. Organisers hope to inspire and galvanise communities to better understand what it means to be Black and British. Each trail will consist of 10 globes. The artists’ creations will respond to nine themes that make up the project’s Journey of Discovery. The themes range from ‘Mother Africa’ and ‘The Reality of Being Enslaved’ to ‘Still We Rise’ and ‘Expanding Soul’. The tenth globe will be designed by an artist in collaboration with community groups. The trails are being delivered in partnership with global public art producers, Wild in Art, who have a proven track record of creating world-class events which entertain, enrich and inform. Their previous work includes the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic mascot trail, the award-winning Bee in the City in Manchester, and Rockets around Leicester. Across the UK, alongside the official presenting partner SKY and supporter Bloomberg, Kick It Out is the UK trail map partner. Local businesses have also supported as globe partners in Bristol including: Natracare, GE, Osborne Clarke, University of Bristol, UWE Bristol, Bristol City Centre BID and Broadmead BID. The World Reimagined has been awarded grants by Arts Council England, the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Portal Trust, the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and The City of London Neighbourhood Fund. To complement the globe trails, an accompanying learning programme will link artists and young people through resources which encourage a creative and critical exploration of our shared history in order to help build a more equitable future.

Ashley Shaw Scott Adjaye, Artistic Director of The World Reimagined said: “Art has the unique ability to invite dialogue for us to collectively process, participate and reflect. Artists remind us of who we are and help us to imagine who we can be. I am excited for the country to engage with these globes and am deeply grateful to have such incredibly talented, open, and thoughtful artists involved. They offer us multivariate angles from which to understand the Transatlantic Trade of Enslaved Africans, and its legacies. I hope the power of this project will contribute to an equitable and inclusive pathway forward.” Ahead of the launch, we spoke to local artist, illustrator and graphic designer Michele Curtis, who is one of the nine artists to be commissioned for the Bristol trail. Michele is the founder and executive director of Iconic Black Britons, an organisation which aims to increase engagement in the arts particularly for marginalised groups. In 2015, Michele held The Seven Saints of St Pauls’ exhibition. Overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response of those in attendance, she quickly realised more needed to be done. Two years later, what started as a one-off exhibition has become a creative movement that is changing the very landscape of Bristol and improving the city’s social and cultural health. There are now seven large-scale murals and an accompanying heritage tour and mobile app to help people learn about the rich history of the St Pauls’ Carnival and the contributions made by the Windrush Generation. Tell us about your connection to Bristol and your previous work and exhibitions in the city... I’m a proper Bristolian. My family is now five generations deep in the city, beginning with my grandad who invested in properties in St. Pauls in the 1950s. My connection to Bristol is what inspired my Iconic Black Bristolians exhibitions and the Seven Saints of St. Pauls creative placemaking project. With the lack of monuments and lack of accessible information regarding the achievements and contributions of the African Caribbean community in the city, I was inspired by the intangible cultural aspects of our history and wanted to showcase the community through exhibitions,

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seemingly mass awakening regarding racism, white privilege and allyship. With statements like: “We’re all in this together”, Can you talk us through your idea for the regarding the NHS frontline staff. globe sculpture and what theme you I unfortunately remained sceptical are focusing on (Mother Africa, that we really are embarking on Expanding Soul, Still We Rise)? real change. I would say it spans all three Why? Because, I’ve seen and themes. Following the heard the same thing my entire consultation session with the life and have heard the community, it was clear to me horrific experiences of family that there is great pride with members, friends and fellow regards to the cultural diasporans who all had the aspects of African history, same experiences. Lest we which I felt was important forget, the many enslaved to include in the design. Africans who rebelled However, it was evident against their enslavement, that there is still a lot of the various civil rights pain and unhealed trauma movements in both the US that is generations deep. My and UK, the various riots practice has always focused throughout 1980’s UK, on the positive aspects of Stephen Lawrence, Child Q, the Black history; therefore, my Black women mortality birth design focuses on our healing rates, the failings to protect Black from the past, unity and pride girls and boys within the British in ourselves and our community. My education system, disproportionately intention Bristol-based artist, illustrator and being diagnosed with mental illness, the is to convey hope and encourage a sense graphic designer Michele Curtis adultification and criminalization of Black of self-actualisation in the design. Whilst still children and the list goes on. All of these injustices honouring our cultural heritage and history. are due to the colour of our skin, based on the same eugenics that was used to enslave us. We have been fighting for Where did you find your inspiration for this piece? basic human rights for hundreds of years… I’m tired and I do not want Cleo Lake, the Community Coordinator and I held a community to pass the baton. consultation at the St. Pauls Learning Centre. This provided the My hope is not only will this project have an impact today, but will opportunity to listen to the views of community. Through this session I also have a lasting legacy that will once and for all give us peace so my was able to draw inspiration for the design through the discussions grandchildren are not regurgitating the same traumatic experiences my around the themes. great grandparents told my grandparents, my parents told me and I tell my children. I hope that we don’t have to keep fighting and pleading How does it feel to be a part of one of the largest art education our case for equality and continue to keep reliving our intergenerational projects for racial justice the UK has ever seen and what makes this trauma in order to do so. I hope this project illuminates all that needs to project so unique in your opinion? be seen and understood so we can finally begin to heal. As an artist and heritage interpreter, I’m very selective with regards to my practice. I am literally still in shock and awe that I am privileged What are you most looking forward to at the launch of the trail in enough to be a part of such an innovative project. For me, this project is August and what do you hope it will do for Bristol in particular? unique in both its execution and the opportunities it has provided for There are very talented and respected artists involved in the project. the creative industry in the UK. The way in which they have managed I’m really looking forward to seeing all the other globe designs. As to create and fund a national project that has a mass collaborative mentioned above, I think the themes are fantastic, so I’m interested to approach is inspiring beyond imagination. The World Reimagined with see the artist’s interpretation. I’m also interested in seeing the response support from Bristol City Council has connected a network of creatives from the public too and generally how the project is received as a whole. to tell a painful and polarizing part of British history in a professional With regards to what I hope it will do for Bristol, Bristol is renowned and supportive environment. I’m am very proud to have been worldwide for being a creative and innovative city, I feel it will add to considered and included. the legacy of our city. n Why is this project so important to you and what do you hope people from all parts of the • The World Reimagined project will run in seven country will take away from it, cities across the UK from 13 August – 31 especially the younger October. Find out more at: generation? theworldreimagined.org The 2020 pandemic and the BLM movement in Left: A sneak peek at the US Michele’s sculpture, sparked a which has been murals and the Seven Saints of St. Pauls mobile app.

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The power of the

sisterhood

As the charity Refugee Women of Bristol celebrates its annual dance event this summer with beautiful illustrations by Niki Groom, we take a closer look at the monumental work that it’s doing in the city...

s it often falls to the work of non-government organisations and charities to support and empower refugees and disenfranchised groups in communities, it is crucial that we protect and preserve these precious resources for not only the current generation but for all those that follow. Refugee Women of Bristol (RWoB) is a brilliant example of a charity that is committed to uplifting the women that walk through its doors. Since it was co-founded in 2003 by Layla Ismail, who came to Bristol as a refugee from Somalia in 1995, the charity’s work has been unceasing, growing in memberships, partnerships and funding and never failing to provide a safe space for those seeking a sanctuary. Based at Easton Family Centre, RWoB offers English classes, wellbeing workshops, healthcare support, childcare and, above all, a 20 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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sisterhood for its near 500 members. For the last nine years, the highlight on the charity’s calendar has been its annual dance event, which forms part of the Bristol Refugee Festival. It offers an opportunity for members to celebrate each other’s music, food and culture. This summer saw the return of the dance event since it was forced online by the Covid pandemic. As no cameras are allowed at the dance in order to protect anonymity, award-winning Bristol-based illustrator Niki Groom, also known as Miss Magpie Fashion Spy – who has worked with international brands including Molton Brown, Paco Rabanne, Clinique and Selfridges – was invited to capture the magical moments of merrymaking. The joy is utterly palpable. This month, we speak to RWoB’s drop-in coordinator Negat Hussein, and Niki to find out more about their work and why the charity has a special place in their hearts.

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them. The dance is part of Bristol Refugee Festival, which celebrates refugees and everything that they bring to the city. Before lockdown, we had around 150 people join us at the dance. We used to open up the doors for other women in the community to join us as well. This year, we had about 78 women join us, which comprised of our members and members from other organisations that we work with. There were so many hugs and so many smiles – it was such a nice way to bring everyone back together again. This year, we also added Ukrainian music to our dance event because we have some Ukrainian members now. It’s also a way of welcoming them into the group; we’re a sisterhood and we want them to feel welcome. What services does Refugee Women of Bristol provide? We have a drop-in centre on Tuesdays during term time at Easton Family Centre where women can learn English, do arts and crafts and get together with friends. We have regular coffee mornings where people can come and share experiences, talk about matters in the city and discuss any health issues. We have very strong links with a lot of organisations in Bristol, including healthcare professionals, so we invite them to host welfare workshops where our members can learn about the different organisations and charities that exist in the city. We offer 1–1 reading classes, where women can practice their English. We also have a crèche so women can either attend a class or have some time to themsevles. We also deliver a project called Mend the Gap, which addresses multiple forms of violence, such as FGM abuse, forced marriage and honour violence as cultural forms of violence against women and girls exist within Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities, particularly African and Arab speaking communities. It includes asylum seekers, trafficked women, refugees, and those with no recourse to public funds. We are a member-led charity, so we’re always trying to meet the womens’ needs. We also have Arabic, Somali and Mandarin interpreters and community workers that help people make appointments, read letters and get referrals. It always makes it easier for everyone to have that clear communication. The reason we have these three languages is because these are the three most spoken languages at our drop-in centre at the moment. The dynamic changes all the time depending on where the wars are in the world.

TBM: How did you get involved with Refugee Women of Bristol? Negat: I came across the charity by chance when I struck up a conversation in Arabic with a mother who didn’t speak English at my child’s playgroup. I was drawn to the idea of volunteering with a community of women and I soon became a member, working in the kitchen, reception, classroom and creche. Later, I became a trustee, and then chair of the organisation. Member-led empowerment and community spirit drew me to this remarkable charity; values that the charity still leads by nearly twenty years later. Tell us about the annual Refugee Women of Bristol dance and how it first started... We have lots of different cultures and lots of different languages in our woman-only space. We were really curious to know how our members celebrate occasions; how they dance, how they sing, what their culture is like, so we decided, as music always brings people closer together, to host a dance event to find out more about

Having seen first-hand the positive impact the charity has had on so many lives, why is it so important that organisations like Refugee Women of Bristol exist in cities? These charities are so important to communities. We work hard to make Bristol a welcoming, safe and inclusive place for people seeking a sanctuary. We are run by people with lived experience and refugee backgrounds and our aim is always for women to come, to feel empowered, to build confidence and then to move on in life. How best can people support Refugee Women of Bristol and the brilliant work that you do in the city? We have a JustGiving page on our website where people can donate to us – any size donation is always very much appreciated. We’re also really thankful to Niki for her work and support. We don’t take any photos on the day so we thought it was brilliant that Niki could use her illustrations to capture the event and bring it to life. • If you can, support Refugee Women of Bristol via the website: refugeewomenofbristol.org.uk THEBRISTOLMAG.CO.UK

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Niki’s illustration for Paco Rabanne’s pop up in Covent Garden, London

I like to capture energy and movement in my work and this artwork does that well I think. There are lots of little stories in the piece that happened over a few hours, someone comforting their friend and then you spot them again dancing, a child playing with a ribbon, someone banging the drum, a woman leading a dance. These things all happened but not all at the same second, so it could never have existed as a photo. TBM: Tell us about your background... Niki: I studied fashion design and was a designer for for over 15 years before becoming an illustrator. I’m used to creating fast-paced work, being aware of trends, creating product that will appeal to the general public – and in those ways the industries are very similar. I’ve since created window displays, luxury packaging, artwork for social media and websites. I also illustrate live at events, creating 10minute head-to-toe fashion illustrations at corporate parties or product launches. I love how illustration allows me to do all of this different work at once. Talk us through your creative process and how you created the illustrations at Refugee Women of Bristol's annual dance event... For reportage work like this I really try not to plan too much, I go equipped with a variety of paints and pens and see what inspires me. RWoB doesn’t allow photography at their events in order to protect the anonymity of their members, and so on this occasion I knew that creating an image of the women dancing together would be really useful as otherwise there was nothing visual they could share on social media. I sketched in black pen at speed and then when I got back to my studio I added paint. This again helps to keep the anonymity of the members as I often make up outfits and colours. Can you tell us about the work you are currently doing for Refugee Women of Bristol? When I was at the event and the women saw what I was doing, they responded really well to it and when the image was shared on social media people loved it, so I wanted to work out a way for RWoB to receive keepsakes from the event and raise money in the process. I decided to sell tea towels with the image on. They are £14 each and £4 will be donated to Refugee Women of Bristol. When you buy one you can choose to add a second that’s donated to the charity.

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Where would you like your work to take you in the future? I’d love to work with a big newspaper covering protest and current affairs. I think sometimes people turn away from difficult imagery but will engage with illustration. With this most recent project with RWoB, I crowdfunded myself a fee for the first time. This allowed me to spend more time creating the artwork in my studio, rather than chasing other paid work. With my Sarah Everard vigil artwork, I crowdfunded to place the artwork on billboards and posters around the UK – it was really powerful to see people standing waiting for a tube reading all of the placard comments on the artwork. I’m excited to see what the future brings with this style of work. n • See more of Niki’s work, donate to her crowdfund and purchase a tea towel at: missmagpiefashionspy.com

Cameras can sometimes feel too intrusive – what is it about live illustration that you enjoy the most? In an environment such as this I love feeling part of the event whilst also capturing it. There’s nothing in-between me and the women, we can laugh and chat while I work.

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Can you tell us about other events that you have attended in Bristol recently? I first started creating reportage work in Calais in 2016. I went to volunteer with Help Refugees and it was soon apparent that if I drew what I was seeing it would be useful for the charity. So I stopped cleaning/packing and started sketching for the week instead – they shared my work on their blog and social media and it attracted donations and more volunteers. Since then, I’ve illustrated at lots of events in Bristol and London, Trump’s Muslim travel ban, anti-Brexit March, Richard Ratcliffe’s Hunger Strike for Free Nazanin, the vigils for Sarah Everard, Bibaa and Nicole, and then more recently the Rwanda policy protest and Little Amal visiting Bristol.

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Niki’s artwork of the Sarah Everard vigil

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Valley Fest Credit: Ania Shrimpton

WHAT’S ON Bristol College of Massage and Bodywork n Throughout August Bristol College of Massage and Bodywork offers high quality training in the heart of Clifton. Founded in 1986, it runs a variety of different courses including: monthly holistic massage introductions for beginners; professional training in holistic, remedial and sports massage and Indian head massage; varied CPD workshops for qualified therapists; and a low cost graduate massage clinic every Thursday. bristolmassage.co.uk Think Global: Act Bristol n Throughout August, M Shed Bristol has declared climate and ecological emergencies. How did we get here? What’s our city’s role in it, and how can we help get out of it? What does a just, green future look like? Think Global: Act Bristol explores big environmental questions affecting people here and worldwide, and presents perspectives from a wide range of local voices. bristolmuseums.org.uk Bristol Shakespeare Festival n Throughout August, various venues A summer of fantastic theatre beckons as the Bristol Shakespeare Festival returns. Hosting performances and events inspired by the Bard, in indoor and outdoor spaces across Bristol, from companies across the 24 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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UK. Whether you prefer the traditional or the experimental, there’s something for everyone. bristolshakespearefestival.org.uk Valley Fest n 4 – 7 August, Chew Valley Lake With the new Arcadia experience and the Lake Stage, this year is set to be the best Valley Fest yet. Travis, Clean Bandit, Faithless, Kosheen and The Craig Charles Funk and Soul Club will headline this year’s festival beside the scenic Chew Valley Lake, near Bristol, between 4 – 7 August. As well as DJs, festival goers can expect boundarypushing fire performances, immersive dancefloors, quality sound plus mindboggling fire and light effects. Showcasing the best of the South West’s glorious produce, you’re advised to arrive hungry. valleyfest.co.uk Cables & Cameras: Jamaican Independence 60th Anniversary n 5 – 7 August, Watershed Cables & Cameras, Dropop and DET Entertainment have teamed up to come together to present a weekend of films and an evening of music curated to celebrate the 60 years of independence. The screening and programme will provide a spotlight on Black and Brown people of Caribbean heritage who have resided in the UK since the Windrush generation. This August

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weekend highlights the impact Jamaican culture has had on the UK and the world, bringing the culture, rhythms and colours of the island's unique identity to the cinema screen and the Café & Bar. watershed.co.uk Bristol Film Festival: A Private War n 9 August, Averys Wine Merchants Bristol Film Festival’s Screening Room Series continues with the powerful biopic of veteran war correspondent Marie Colvin, A Private War. Rosamund Pike gives a deeply moving performance as Colvin in this compelling must-watch, which explores the best and worst of humanity during wartime through the viewpoint of one of the most fearless journalists of the modern era. Every screening, in the atmospheric setting of Averys’ historic cellars, includes an arrival drink and an introduction explaining the context and significance of the chosen film, and the rationale behind its selection for our programme. bristolfilmfestival.com Bat Out Of Hell n 9 – 20 August, Bristol Hippodrome Join Strat, the forever young leader of rebellious gang ‘The Lost’ as he falls in love with Raven, the beautiful daughter of the tyrannical ruler of Obsidian. This awardwinning wild child musical thunders through powerhouse hits including I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That), Continued page 26

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Jack Botts at The Louisiana

festivals, to busking on the streets across the Australian coastline. thelouisiana.net

Paradise By The Dashboard Light, Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad, Dead Ringer For Love and Bat Out of Hell, in an exciting over the top theatrical spectacle unlike any other. atgtickets.com

Brazil comes to Bristol n 19 August, Harvey Nichols Bristol Enjoy a delicious Brazilian supper club in collaboration with ZECA at Harvey Nichols Bristol Second Floor Restaurant. Discover the flavours of Brazil with a threecourse meal and authentic samba music as you sip on ZECA Cachaça cocktails. You’ll also be able to learn about the four generations of quality in ZECA Cachaça from founder Marcos Matos; discovering more about the rich history of the unique spirit and what to mix with it for maximum flavour. On the evening you’ll be treated to a live performance from Brazilian singersongwriter Aleh Ferreira; front man of the legendary Bandana Black Rio. Tickets available via Eventbrite. harveynichols.com

The Bristol Ball n 13 – 14 August, Trinity Centre The Bristol Ballroom Community are inviting everyone to Bristol’s first official Ballroom Function. Bear witness to this spectacular fusion of dance, fashion, performance, and gender expression. The public are invited as spectators, or if you have the nerve, you can participate or ‘walk’ the Ball. There are different tickets for walkers and spectators so please be careful when choosing. There is a category for everyone – some will be dance performance based, some performance art, and others just ‘feeling yourself’. trinitybristol.org.uk Jack Botts n 16 August, The Louisiana Jack Botts is a breath of fresh air out of the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, Australia, creating a brand of surf folk drenched in depth and substance. In just a handful of years on the scene, Jack Botts has gone from chippy-turned-busker-into full time touring musician and one of the fastest growing artists in the country. His sound is perfect for bringing those coastal road trip vibes to life, and his live shows are no different, ranging from bars, venues and 26 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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Gretchen Peters n 25 August, St George’s Bristol Beloved Nashville artist Gretchen Peters has been producing gorgeous country tunes for the better part of two decades. Inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in October 2014 by singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell, who called her “both a songwriter and a poet (who) sings as beautifully as she writes,” Peters has accumulated accolades as a songwriter for artists from the likes of Etta James to Bonnie Raitt. It’s no wonder The Telegraph named her one of the greatest female singer-

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The Chemical Brothers Credit: Charlie Raven

songwriters of all time. bristolbeacon.org Bristol Bridge Club n Coming in September! Bristol Bridge Club is starting two new bridge beginners weekly courses. From 6 September at 10am and from Wednesday 7 September at 7.30pm. The courses will run for 10 weeks and cost £90, which includes the Beginning Bridge Book One, produced by the English Bridge Education and development. You will be a tutorial member of the Bristol Bridge Club. For registration and more details, email: teaching@bristolbridgeclub.co.uk. What’s more, free online Zoom lessons are currently running every Saturday morning at 10am, just go to Bridge club website and follow the links. bristolbridgeclub.co.uk FORWARDS Festival n 3 – 4 September, Clifton Downs Formed by Bristol-based Team Love and AEG Presents, Forwards brings the biggest names in international music to Bristol Downs this September, blending a cutting edge lineup with a platform for social purpose and timely debate. Let’s harness the legacy and power of music events to bring people together for positive change. FORWARDS’ stellar international music programme featuring The Chemical Brothers, Jamie XX, Little Simz, Róisín Murphy, Khruangbin, Caribou, Fred Again.., and Shygirl is not one to miss. forwardsbristol.co.uk

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FAMILY DIARY DISCOVER THE BEST THINGS TO SEE & DO WITH THE FAMILY THIS MONTH See Monster n Coming in August, Weston-super-Mare The transformation of a decommissioned North Sea offshore platform is a world-first that is set to become one of the UK’s largest public art installations, aiming to inspire global conversations about the repurposing of large industrial structures and design-led solutions to sustainable futures. See Monster can be experienced from the seafront, beach and on board and will feature four publicly accessible levels animated by a 10-metre-high waterfall; a 6,000-piece kinetic installation forming the monster’s shimmering scales; an onboard oasis of grasses, plants and trees selected to thrive in a seaside micro-climate, and so much more. seemonster.co.uk Summer of Rockets! n Throughout August, Aerospace Bristol Enjoy a summer of rocket launching fun at Aerospace Bristol, with daily rocket-themed activities throughout August. Help to build and decorate a giant rocket, launch outdoor water rockets and test your accuracy on the rocket firing range – trying to reach the top of the leaderboard. Plus, enjoy science shows, space-themed colouring in, discover rockets in the museum exhibition – including a Skylark rocket on display – and join Spotlight Talks to learn even more about rockets. aerospacebristol.org Wake The Tiger Amazement Park n Open now, Albert Road BS2 0YA From the artistic team behind the groundbreaking festival, Boomtown Fair, journey to the world of Meridia. Having spent over a decade creating one of the most large scale immersive festival experiences in the world,

See Monster coming to Weston-super-Mare

the team wanted to expand and diversify their creative potential by establishing a year round arts and events venue where audiences can experience the work in a non-festival environment. wakethetiger.com

and Gothic cathedrals and modern architecture, the Luminarium is a sunlightpowered sensory experience featuring kaleidoscopic colours, domes, tunnels and pods for all the family. bristollightfestival.org

Luminarium n 4 – 14 August, in and around Bristol Bristol Light Festival presents: Luminarium, a free, family-friendly immersive experience in Bristol this August. Enter a world of wonder when the world-famous inflatable domes filled with natural light and colour visit the city. Taking inspiration from natural forms, Islamic

A Midsummer Night’s Dream n Until 20 August, Insane Roots Theatre A wedding celebration disrupted by a dangerous elopement, warring fairies, a band of ambitious performers and the most famous donkey in theatre history. Shakespeare’s iconic comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream bursts into life this summer in a hidden corner of Bristol. This vibrant new open-air adaptation will transport audiences to Athens for a wedding celebration like no other. Adapted by the company and featuring an ensemble of nine performers playing multiple roles, direction from Hannah Drake, integrated acapella harmonies from Ellie Showering, immersive lighting design by Edmund McKay, and dynamic site-responsive design from Katy Hoste. insaneroot.org.uk

Luminarium arrives on 4 August Credit: Stephen Wright

Elephant Parade n Until 31 August, Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm Elephant Parade® combines art, conservation, education and of course lots of fun. The herd of 26 decorative elephants will form a trail over the 100 acres of beautiful North Somerset countryside for visitors to explore and discover. Each sculpture has been created by local and international artists to raise awareness of the need for global elephant conservation. noahsarkzoofarm.co.uk 28 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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Dishes of

Discovery Brunel’s SS Great Britain is inviting visitors to ‘Taste the World’ this summer as it offers visitors the chance to sample delicacies inspired by Victorian voyages to destinations visited by the ship in the 19th century. We take a look at what’s on the menu...

uring her working life, the SS Great Britain journeyed to six continents, 24 countries and around the world an incredible 32 times. Her passengers and crew experienced many cultural sights, sounds, smells and, most notably, tastes. From 23 July to 4 September, visitors who step aboard the SS Great Britain will have the opportunity to tuck into historic recipes, discovering how the world’s first great ocean liner connected people and places around the world. The dishes have been created by Bristol-based social enterprise, Travelling Kitchen, whose team worked with the ship’s archivists to explore recipes from around the globe. The dishes created include a zingy melon and ginger jam from Cape Town, traditional borsch from Crimea and a tropical green coriander and coconut chutney from Mumbai – and are typical of those that passengers would have encountered as they disembarked in the faraway destinations. The SS Great Britain Trust’s interpretation team studied diaries and documents to create these authentic recipes. As Joanna Mathers, Head of Collections at the Trust, explains: “We have made some fascinating discoveries as part of this project. One of the dishes – the green coriander and coconut chutney – was inspired by Samuel Archer, the ship’s surgeon on a voyage to Mumbai in 1857. We have access to his diary, which describes the food he experienced and this process gives visitors to the ship a chance to step back in time to the days before mass travel. These flavours would’ve been brand new and exotic, and for many, their first time encountering the likes of coconut, ginger and melon.” 30 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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The aim of the Dishes of Discovery activity is to highlight the ship’s diverse reach across the oceans and, the ports she visited, as well as giving visitors the chance to experience that culinary excitement for themselves. The recipes on offer are: Melon & Ginger Jam This is featured in a recipe book by Hildagonda J. Duckitt, which contains many ‘old Cape, Indian and Malay dishes and preserves’. Melon and ginger jam is a very simple recipe only containing melon, sugar and bruised ginger. Green Coriander & Coconut Chutney This is a version of a traditional chutney that visitors to Mumbai during the 19th century may have tasted. In the UK, we often think of chutneys involving vegetables or fruits with spices preserved in sugar and vinegar, but traditionally Indian chutneys would be made fresh on the day that they were consumed. This recipe comes from Colonel Arthur Robert Kenney-Herbert’s book Culinary Jottings for Madras. Borsch/Borshch Beetroot borsch was probably first made in what is now Ukraine, in the 17th or early 18th century with potatoes and sometimes tomatoes being added in the 19th century. This recipe may be served chilled as borsch is suitable for the summer months. n • Book your tickets at: ssgreatbritain.org

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TASTE THE WORLD

Green Coriander & Coconut Chutney (Mumbai) Colonel Arthur Robert Kenney-Herbert, who regularly wrote articles about Indian cookery for The Madras Mail, Madras Atheneum and The Daily News using the pen-name Wyvern, first published his book Culinary Jottings for Madras in 1878. Following over 30 years working in India, he shared recipes for a number of fresh chutneys including tomato, cucumber, coconut, mint and tamarind. Here, we look at his recipe for green coriander and coconut

chutney, which visitors to the SS Great Britain will be able to try this summer. Note: This quantity makes a 150g tasting portion. It is best served on the day it is made but it can keep for up to three days in the fridge. We suggest serving about ½ a teaspoon on a mini papadum. Allergens: None, although some people may experience a reaction to coconut.

Ingredients

Method

Large bunch of fresh coriander leaves, washed and dried 100g of fresh coconut, grated (you can buy this frozen, ready grated) 100ml of tinned coconut milk Juice of 1 lime 1 green chilli, seeded and chopped 1 cm piece of fresh ginger, grated 1 clove of garlic, crushed 2 teaspoons of tamarind paste mixed with a little water (optional) or just use a few teaspoons of water

1. Grate the coconut and place in a medium-sized bowl. Add the chopped coriander.

Pinch of salt and sugar to taste

2. Stir the coconut milk well to ensure it is thoroughly mixed and add to bowl. 3. Add the lime juice chopped chilli, grated ginger and crushed garlic to the bowl and mix well. 4. Add the tamarind paste and water. 5. Blend until smooth. Add a little more water or lime juice if the mixture appears too dry.

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THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE 31

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EXHIBITIONS

STATE OF THE ART Cara Romero Photography, Rainmaker Gallery, until 30 September Rainmaker Gallery has opened its new expanded exhibition space on Whiteladies Road with two concurrent shows of contemporary Native American art. Minimalistic oil pastel drawings by Potawatomi artist Jason Wesaw are juxtaposed with narrative photographic portraits by Chemehuevi artist Cara Romero. In the drawings of Jason Wesaw we find carefully chosen single colours that describe simple shapes with deeply personal references to nature, healing and ceremony. Romero, whose photography is currently on show at both MoMA (The Museum of Modern Art, NY) and The Met (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY ), says of her work: “My photographs explore our collective Native histories, and the ways in which our indigeneity expresses itself in modern times.”

Black Sky City, F4 Photography gallery, throughout August In Black Sky City, Esmé Lloyd FRPS presents a cinematic storyboard, illustrating her song of the same name. A transient musician is tracked on his night odyssey across 1960s America. Shot entirely from Esmé’s Dorset studio, the collection of photographic images display an extraordinary reality, perfectly capturing the mood and feel of night time America. Limited edition 50, a selection from the 20 images that make up Black Sky City will be on display and available to purchase. Entry is free. The gallery is open every day except Tuesdays. • f4clifton.co.uk

Image: #17 of the Black Sky City series by Esmé Lloyd

• rainmakerart.co.uk; 140 Whiteladies Road, BS8 2RS Image: Shameless by Cara Romero

The Paper Road – Rare Paper Exhibition, Spike Island Studio, 15 August – 19 August Elaine Cooper is a Master Papermaker who has compiled this exquisite collection of rare and original handmade papers that uniquely chart the history and development of Japanese papermaking. A visually stunning and informative exhibition which documents the art and history of washi. It includes a most comprehensive and diverse collection of papers, from many areas and epochs of Japan. Many of the samples are now rare and no longer manufactured. The papers demonstrate the continuing development of the traditional art and craft of Japanese papermaking through the centuries. These works will be shown together for the first time at this event. • spikeprintstudio.org Image: Paper Details, Uchigumo Trailing cloud paper, one of the oldest known papers of Japan. Made by Iwano San. Iwano has been designated as an “intangible cultural property” of Fukui Prefecture

Exploring: New Collections by Nancy Pickard and Ellie Preston, Clifton Contemporary Art, until 20 August For summer, the gallery is focusing on two artists who pursue their own unique exploratory paths. Not from A to B, but into the personal, the archetypal, the instinctive and emotional. Nancy Pickard’s inscrutable mixed media paintings are rich with ideas and symbolism. Blurring the borders between animal and human, they are also inspired by the concept of migration that has defined and driven our culture for millennia. In Ellie Preston’s layered, contemplative abstracts, the creative process is a material exploration that begins with a formative underpainting onto which she builds depth and harmony. Each gesture, form and colour contributes to the whole, where the balance of thoughtfulness and spontaneity creates presence and power. Complementing Nancy and Ellie’s work will be a selection of pieces by gallery artists including: Masako Tobita, Tom Hughes, Elaine Jones, Andrew Hood, Carl Melegari, Sally Stafford and Lynne Cartlidge. • cliftoncontemporaryart.co.uk Image: All at Sea by Nancy Pickard

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EXHIBITIONS

Forest: Wake this Ground, Arnolfini, until 2 October This summer, Arnolfini welcomes visitors to celebrate what lies above and below the forest floor with Forest: Wake this Ground, a major group exhibition including artists, writers, filmmakers, and composers from across the globe: Rodrigo Arteaga, Mark Garry, Alma Heikkilä, Eva Jospin, Jumana Manna, Zakiya Mckenzie, David Nash, Maria Nepomuceno, John Newling, Rose Nguyen, Ben Rivers, Ai Weiwei, and Hildegard Westerkamp. With works that recycle, reuse and repurpose resources, discover the forests’ ancient rhythms and explore stories, myths, and folktales passed down between people over centuries. The exhibition is accompanied by a programme that includes live performance, film, family events and creative workshops inviting you to share and create your own ‘forest tales’ and to very gently encourage us all to take a look at the impact the changing climate has on nature and the world around us. • arnolfini.org.uk Image: Soil unsoiled, 2020. A collaboration between Zakiya McKenzie and Khady Gueye

Born Free Forever Bristol, Sea Walls, Circular Rd, Clifton BS9 1PG, until 30 September In 1966, Virginia McKenna OBE and Bill Travers MBE starred in the classic wildlife film Born Free. The film told the true story of conservationists Joy and George Adamson, who rescued a lioness cub called Elsa and successfully returned her to the wild. Virginia and Bill went on to make a number of wildlife films together, including in 1969 An Elephant Called Slowly with an elephant calf called Pole Pole (pronounced Poly Poly). When filming was over, Pole Pole was gifted to London Zoo by the Kenyan government. In 1982, Virginia and Bill went to visit Pole Pole at the zoo. Pole Pole, in clear distress, remembered Virginia and Bill and stretched out her trunk to reach them. Virginia and Bill launched a campaign to give Pole Pole a better life but in 1983, aged 16, Pole Pole died. Determined that her death would not be in vain, in 1984, Virginia, Bill and their eldest son Will launched Zoo Check – the charity that has evolved into Born Free. This year, Born Free has launched a UK-wide exhibition with 25 life-size bronze lion sculptures touring the country to raise awareness and vital funds for lions. Visit the exhibition at Clifton Downs, marvel at the sculptures and learn the true stories behind the Born Free lion pride. Born Free are proud to have joined forces with monumental artists Gillie and Marc to present this landmark installation to raise awareness and vital funds for the charity’s conservation work. • bornfree.org.uk

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Earth: Digging Deep in British Art 1781 2022, Royal West of England Academy (RWA), until 11 September The final instalment of the RWA’s elements series, Earth: Digging Deep in British Art 1781-2022 tackles the most expansive and urgent of subject matters, bringing together important modern, historical and contemporary artworks, co-curated by artist Emma Stibbon RA RWA, art historian Professor Emerita Christiana Payne (Oxford Brookes University) and Nathalie Levi (Head of Programme – Curator of Exhibitions, RWA). The exhibition examines how attitudes towards the landscape have evolved over the centuries and how artists’ approaches have changed over time; from the pastoral idylls of the 18th century, through representations of the Romantic Sublime, to present-day confrontations of the climate emergency. Encompassing depictions of the natural world from geological, spiritual, industrial, cultural and scientific perspectives. The RWA has also announced that submissions are now open for the 169th Annual Open Exhibition, so artists can apply to be in the exhibition until 14 August. Anyone can enter their work for this mixed discipline show and work is judged purely on its own merits, anonymously, rather than on the artist’s CV. Entries are open to artists across the UK and beyond and there’s no age limit. The exhibition includes painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, film, sculpture and illustration by artists ranging from leading professionals, to emerging talent, from across the UK and beyond. • For more information about the exhibitions and how to apply, visit: rwa.org.uk Image: Rodney Harris MRSS (b. 1966), A Delineation of Strata of England and Wales with parts of Scotland, Ireland and France, based on the original geological map by William Smith in 1815

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COLUMN | CHRIS YEO ON ANTIQUES

Expert opinion From Chris Yeo, Valuer at Clevedon Salerooms and regular expert on BBC’s Antiques Roadshow

Velvet Goldmine They used to call the Seventies “the decade taste forgot”. Of course, “they” were the 1980s, which, if we’re talking taste, is nothing short of the pot calling the kettle black. For years, the very mention of the word ‘Seventies’ was enough to strike fear and loathing into otherwise reasonable, level-headed people. Not so long ago, design magazine Wallpaper drew up a shortlist of the most egregious faux pas of the past half-a-century - and guess which decade came top? But look beyond the avocado bathroom suites and a different picture soon emerges. In the 1970s, interior design reached a level of exuberance that has never since been equalled. The decade centred around bold patterns, sumptuous textures, and rich colour schemes. Decadence and glamour were the twin beats that throbbed throughout a decade that was bookmarked by Bowie at its beginning and Grace Jones at its end – oh, be still my beating heart! In an era that saw countless strikes, runaway inflation and powdered orange juice, what to do but lose yourself in a whirlwind of hedonism? A mood of defiant decadence was abroad, whether it was glam rockers “gender bending” – as contemporary parlance had it – on Top of the Pops or Bianca Jagger riding into Studio 54 on the back of a white horse. The mood was encapsulated and retailed to perfection at Biba, the London fashion store opened in 1973. Housed in Art Deco splendour, Biba offered an interior vision that took elements of Hollywood’s Golden Age and mixed it with louche colours, crushed velvets and Art Nouveau patterns. It was daring and decadent and worked perfectly in a world ruled by Marc Bolan and Pan’s People (ask your parents). And it seems you can’t keep a good decade down. These days the once maligned ‘70s are bang on-trend, with designers, architects and style savvy buyers all eagerly embracing the decade’s bold and brash personality - from a renewed love for houseplants, to bold, clashing patterns and old-school gold accessories. That the decade should be ripe for plundering for inspiration should come as no surprise, the question is how could it take so long? ■ • clevedonsalerooms.com; @chrisyeo_antiques (Instagram)

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BOOKS

Ones to

watch

Tripticks by Ann Quin Released in paperback on 23 August We are hugely excited (though not without a tinge of sadness) about the final novel from the brilliant modernist writer, Ann Quin, that is to be republished by And Other Stories. Quin was a masterful literary inventor, a wild ribald genius of bizarre characters and experimental storytelling. She’s certainly not for everyone, but for those who loved Berg (which is one of the titles Tom recommends most often from the shop) this is one not to be missed!

Looking for your next read? Gloucester Road Books have got you covered. Here, the team suggest five forthcoming titles all worthy of a precious spot in your beach bag...

note from the team: “August can be a funny month for publishing. It can feel a little squeezed between the focus on holiday reading over the summer, and the flurry of big new titles that start appearing from September. This means it sometimes winds up a little thin on excitement. This August, however, is a welcome exception to that. Here are our picks for the month. If you’d like to pre-order a copy of any of these titles, drop us an email at hello@gloucesterroadbooks.com.” Follow Gloucester Road Books on Instagram at: gloucester_rd_books. Visit the bookshop at: 184 Gloucester Road, Bishopston, BS7 8NU. Open Monday – Tuesday 9.30am – 5pm; Wednesday – Saturday 9.30am – 6pm The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell Released in hardback on 30 August The big news for August is that there is a new novel from Maggie O’Farrell. Hamnet is one of our best-sellers since opening last April, so there is sure to be massive excitement about this one. Set in the Italian Renaissance, the story follows the life of a young woman, Lucrezia, who finds herself closely surrounded by both beauty and dangerous political power.

Writing from Ukraine: Fiction, Poetry and Essays since 1965 Edited by Mark Andryczyk Released in paperback on 4 August We're really looking forward to this new anthology. There has been a massive interest in writing from, and about, Ukraine since the start of the war. There are a few stalwarts like Andrey Kurkov and Serhii Plokhy whose books have found new readers in recent months, but it's really gratifying to at last have a broader survey of Ukrainian writers, both established and emerging.

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Intimacies by Katie Kitamura Released in paperback on 4 August This one comes highly recommended by the likes of Elif Shafak, Brandon Taylor, and Gloucester Road Books’ own Leah. An interpreter moves to The Hague to work at the International Court. Once there, she is plunged into simmering personal dramas, as well as becoming professionally involved in the high stakes court case of a man accused of war crimes. Intimacies is an existential thriller laced with tensions on both personal and political levels. Persiana Everyday by Sabrina Ghayour Released in hardback on 4 August Ghayour’s first cookbook, Persiana, has been a staple in many kitchens since it was published in 2014. Persiana Everyday takes the same approach to elegant, delicious Middle-Eastern food, but designs dishes to fit around hectic schedules with limited time to spend on preparation and cooking. There is no sacrifice on flavour here, these recipes are about making food delicious while keeping it simple.

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Ma San Auction In Bath

SPECIALISTS IN ORIENTAL WORKS OF ART A Chinese Yaozhou ‘Four Fish’ Bowl, Song Dynasty. SOLD £2080 incl. premium

A Chinese Famille Rose Porcelian Tile, 19th Century SOLD £4680 incl. premium

A pair of Chinese Famille Verte Porcelain Jardinieres, 19/20th Century. SOLD £2340 incl. premium Chinese Ceramics to include a Double Gourd ‘Iron-spot’ Ewer, blue and white Pouring Bowl and Pilgrim Flask Ewer. SOLD £13,000 incl. premium

Free ns atio g valu cceptin s a t n w No signme con r future fo les! sa

A Sino Tibetan Hand-Painted Wooden Sideboard, 20th Century. SOLD £650 incl. premium

Free valuations and home visits • Over 30 years experience • Competitive commission rates Direct contacts in Hong Kong and China • Sales every month 2 Princes Buildings, George Street, Bath BA1 2ED Tel: 01225 318587

www.masanauction.com

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THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE 37

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Into the

wild Polar explorer and environmental leader Robert Swan OBE, along with his 2041 Foundation, are in a race against time to preserve Antarctica as a natural reserve for science and peace. In March, at the age of 16, Bristol pupil Madeleine Williamson became the youngest person without a guardian to join Swan on a sustainability leadership expedition to the continent. Here, Madeleine lets us in on the spectacular but sombre sights of one of the world’s last great wildernesses...

arlier this year as part of the 2041 Climate Force Foundation, Redmaids’ High student Madeleine Williamson, became the youngest of 90 people to join Robert Swan OBE – the first person to walk to both the North and South Poles – on an expedition to Antarctica. The foundation’s mission is to preserve the continent as much as possible. The year 2041 is the year that Antarctica’s fate will be decided and the re-negotiation of a moratorium on mining, which designates Antarctica as a “natural reserve, devoted to peace and science”, will take place. For 30 years, the foundation has been working tirelessly to engage with business and communities on climate science, personal leadership, and the promotion of sustainable practices. In March, Madeleine took part in the ‘Leadership on the Edge’ programme, where she learned leadership development skills, climate change training, and sustainability education. After returning from her 12-day trip, Madeleine has become an advocate for environmental protection at the highest level of Antarctic governance. Here, after reflecting on the experience, Madeleine shares her thoughts on the sights she witnessed in one of the world’s last great wildernesses. “When I was first asked to be part of an expedition to the Antarctic to help fight global climate change, I didn’t really understand exactly what I was in for. I’ve always been conscientious about climate change and active in doing my part to help reduce it. However, in my first several conversations with Arctic explorer and founder of Climate Force 2041 Robert Swan OBE, I began to understand that there was much more I could be doing to affect change. I felt like I had to do more to help so I accepted the challenge and went to work preparing for the expedition, raising £19,000 through donations and sponsorship. 38 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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The expedition team comprised of 170 scientists, business leaders, climate activists and a handful of students from all over the world. The aim of the expedition was to bring together individuals of influence to exchange ideas and initiate change together, to fight the increasing global temperatures that are causing more severe weather patterns than we have experienced in human history. Our task was to bring back ideas for action to raise awareness and initiate change in our local communities. After two long years of preparation and fundraising I was finally aboard the ship leaving from Ushuaia, Argentina and heading to Antarctica. Despite all my mental and physical preparation, it was only after we sailed into the infamous Drake Passage that reality hit me. The passage is the tumultuous body of water separating South America from Antarctica and is notoriously difficult to navigate. Even after we were briefed on the sheer size and power of the waves, nothing could prepare me for my first night on board. At one point, the captain ordered us to our cabins on lockdown due to the rough seas. At regular intervals we lost sight of the horizon as the ship struggled up and down the treacherous 30-foot waves. At this point I began to realise that this expedition had higher stakes than I signed up for. This was my introduction to an experience I can only call life changing and forever unforgettable. When we finally reached the continent of Antarctica, the sky sat grey most of the time complimenting the snow’s gleaming white and sub-zero temperatures. At the point I set foot on the continent the effects of climate change became apparent. In more areas than ever recorded before, the snow was thinning, revealing big brown glaciers poking through, disturbing the sense of tranquillity in the environment.

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Two icebergs have moved together as a result of the rise in temperature

Photograph shows cryocnite holes filled with water in the surface of a glacier caused by enhanced ice melt around trapped sediment

Brown glaciers are a sign that the normal deep snow cap covering the continent is now gone. One of the days we were even met with rain. Antarctica is a desert and should see no rainfall. It felt like our surroundings were giving up. We regularly encountered many of the native animals of Antarctica. I saw the variety of life there ranging from humpback whales, chinstrap penguins, sea lions and seals to the krill that form the base of the Antarctic ecosystem. We learned how each species is slowly disappearing or having to adjust its daily existence around the rising temperatures of the seas. It was heart breaking to see first-hand. During the expedition we held daily group discussions and presentations, both on the ship and on the continent. They were utterly eye opening. I learnt about the 2.5-degree point. This is the temperature rise at which all life on earth is irreversibly damaged. It is the point of no return for us as a planet. I learned about our diminishing carbon budget, which is how much carbon we can produce until we reach the critical 2.5-degree point. The whole experience made me realise how precariously close we are to our own self destruction. We also discussed this problem of ocean bound plastic and what some companies are doing to help slow the problem. In one of the sessions, the director of sustainability for Hewlett Packard – an American multinational information technology company that conducts high-impact research on sustainability solutions to move us all to a lowcarbon economy – explained how they are tackling this problem by

using machines to break down the plastic gathered from the oceans. The plastic is then reused to manufacture parts for their computers, printers, and packaging products. It is this type of initiative that needs to be taken not by just one company but by the rest of the world. In everything we do now, we must consider the environment. So, what now? After this humbling, incredible, terrifying yet amazing experience, I now intend to encourage others to act, even if it is in small ways. Personally, I’m going to do public presentations around Bristol and in schools as much as I can to raise awareness. I also intend to plant 1,300 trees every year. So far, I have planted 108 trees this month which will remove up to 0.75 tons of carbon emissions from our atmosphere. We can all do our part to help. We can reduce plastic consumption by avoiding vegetables wrapped in plastic at the grocery store. We can choose planet-friendly products made by companies who recycle and reduce waste and source products locally. We can reduce the amount of new clothing we buy every year, much of which ends up in landfills. We can eat less meat and more vegetables. We can reach out to our local politicians and people of influence and talk to them about how they can do more to stop our likely future. Even little changes to our daily routine will help make a positive impact on global climate change, so let’s go for it.” n • Find out more about the 2041 Climate Force Foundation at: 2041foundation.org THEBRISTOLMAG.CO.UK

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TASTING NOTES

FOOD & DRINK

TASTY TIDBITS FROM THE CITY’S RESTAURANTS, CHEFS AND PRODUCERS

DINE IN AT BRISTOL OLD VIC Bristol Old Vic has officially launched its new Kitchen + Bar, a tantalising new food and drink offering in its indoor and outdoor café area. Bristol Old Vic’s Kitchen + Bar features a vibrant range of locally sourced, deli-fresh food that complements its great coffee and fabulous selection of drinks. Served all day from Monday to Saturday, customers will be able to hang out at their favourite theatre for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The new venture is a partnership with Bristol Event Catering – a local independent company that is quickly building a reputation for its modern approach to food creativity.

TOO GOOD TO GO

• Take a look at the new menu at: bristololdvic.org.uk

Convenience store shoppers and local good causes are benefitting from discounted food and surplus produce as Southern Co-op unveils a new programme to keep as many products as possible in the human food chain. The first stage launched in Bristol and Somerset stores last month with Too Good To Go Magic Bags – the world’s largest surplus food app that lets users rescue surprise ‘Magic Bags’ of delicious, unsold food from shops and restaurants. Via the free-to-download app, customers at local Southern Co-op sites can buy surplus food and drink products which are near to their expiry date. The second stage will see the rollout of other initiatives designed to save food that has gone past its best before date – either by reducing it to 20p or donating it to local good causes. The programme to donate food has already been tested at 27 stores in Bristol and Bournemouth since 21 March and a total of four tonnes of food has already been donated – the equivalent of £17,000 worth of food and 9,000 meals. • Find out more at: southern.coop; toogoodtogo.co.uk

ONE COFFEE AT A TIME When Dareshack opened its doors in October 2020, serving speciality coffee, the team was working hard behind the scenes to implement their full business model and renovate a 4,000 sqft multi-purpose space to bring a new concept to Wine Street. Their ambitious plans of transforming the high street units into a creative space, alongside the coffee bar, finally came to fruition earlier this year. The studio space launched with gigs and performances from many talented acts. With the mission of unleashing creative opportunities and collaborating with the local creative community, Dareshack have now launched a platform that takes a percentage of coffee sales (and everything that goes through the tills) to turn it into creative opportunities. Through the simple act of drinking [exceptional] coffee, people contribute to unleashing the enigmatic power that can push the community forward; challenging the status quo, and creating meaningful experiences; originating new projects, new stories and experiences. The platform is now live and is funding a project from the visual artist Matteo Amadio; Unknown Connections – a multimedia and interactive installation at the intersection of sound and light. • Creatives can apply via their website: dareshack.com/funding. And coffee drinkers can head to their coffee bars on Wine Street and Old Market Street

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BRAZIL COMES TO BRISTOL Discover Brazilian flavours with ZECA Enjoy a delicious Brazilian supper club in collaboration with ZECA at our Second Floor Restaurant. Discover the flavours of Brazil with a three-course meal and authentic samba music as you sip on ZECA Cachaça cocktails. You’ll also be able to learn about the four generations of quality in ZECA Cachaça from founder Marcos Matos; discovering more about the rich history of the unique spirit and what to mix with it for maximum flavour. On the evening you’ll be treated to a live performance from Brazilian singersongwriter Aleh Ferreira; front man of the legendary Bandana Black Rio. Second Floor Restaurant. Friday 19 August, 7pm. Canapes, 3 courses, 3 cocktails Tickets £50 per person - Tickets available via Sevenrooms

@hnbristol_secondfloor

HARVEY NICHOLS, CABOT CIRCUS, BRISTOL

IT’S WINE O’CLOCK SOMEWHERE A 1920’S MURDER MYSTERY WITH A TWIST… WINE ESCAPE, The UK’s first immersive escape room event is coming to Bristol on Friday 9th September & Saturday 10th September as part of a brand-new tour and with it brings a new level of escape room entertainment to the area. Guests will enjoy a night of glamour and 2 course meal following fun problem-solving games to beat the ticking clock. Step back into the roaring 1920’s and enjoy the extravagance of Hawker Wine Estate. YOU have been invited to an exclusive party hosted by the very wealthy owners, the Von James family. BUT the celebrations turn sour when a storm of vengeance, lies and deceit ruins the evening. You must stick together, hold your nerve and beat the clock in order to escape Hawker alive... The Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel

Tickets start from £59 per person and include: A fabulous 2 course meal, live show and entertainment, thrilling and exciting games and an immersive, interactive experience. 10% OFF ALL TICKETS exclusively to Bristol Magazine readers Use coupon code: BRISTOLMAG10 at the checkout. Tickets available at: wineescape_uk

www.wineescape.co.uk wineescapeuk

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Promoted Content

De-cluttering does wonders for mental health Physical environments influence emotions, cognition and behaviours. Cluttered environments can be uncomfortable, embarrassing, depressing and stressful. They can cause friction between household members and create feelings of not being in control. Clutter causes negativity. If your hallway has become a dumping ground, every time you come into your home it will feel negative rather than positive. If the clutter continues into the kitchen these negative feelings continue, and so on and so forth. Fay Gregory has been running her de-clutter service for over 10 years and thankfully has seen many positive changes in recycling. It is a great resource, and if an item can be recycled it is far easier to let it go.

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There is no harm in asking for help and people find that once they’ve tackled their clutter, they feel that a weight has been lifted, their mood improves and they enjoy a sense of freedom. Reorganising and de-cluttering your home is not about making a ‘show home’. It is about managing your belongings and making your home an inviting, pleasurable place to live in and somewhere to feel proud of. Whether you have hoarding tendencies or are just fed up with general mess and clutter, help is at hand to get you motivated. FM DeClutter Services provide a friendly tailor made service that works with you, at your pace, with empathy and understanding. For further information, help, advice and solutions, call Fay Gregory at FM DeClutter Services

Tel: 078 2107 8526 or 0117 955 0713 www.fmdeclutterservices.com

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THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE 43

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NEWS FROM THE CITY

BRISTOL UPDATES NEWS FROM LOCAL BUSINESSES AND COMMUNITY ORGANISATIONS

BEST BOUTIQUE SPA The Good Spa Guide™ – the UK’s leading authority on the spa industry – recently unveiled the results of its 13th annual awards, celebrating the very best in spa excellence across the UK. Bristol’s Aztec Hotel & Spa walked away with the gong for best boutique spa. In addition, Aztec Hotel was also recently awarded four bubbles by the Good Spa Guide. The hotel offers guests a warming sauna, relaxing hot tub and jacuzzi, a steam room and a spacious indoor swimming pool for a refreshing dip, either before or after a visit to the well-equipped gym. • aztechotelbristol.co.uk

TOP MARKS FOR REDMAIDS’ HIGH IB STUDENTS Sixth Formers across the country have had to adapt to a mixture of online learning, several lockdowns, and uncertainty through two of the most important years in their school life. Earlier this term – and for the first time since 2019 – International Baccalaureate (IB) students at Redmaids’ High School sat their final exams. Grades were phenomenal across the board with an average score of 38, far outreaching the global average of 33.02. Eleanor achieved an astonishing score of 45, the top mark possible, attained by less than 1% of IB students worldwide and will be studying Human Sciences at Durham University. Redmaids’ High School is one of only two schools in Bristol to offer the International Baccalaureate. The qualification is highly regarded by students and universities as it allows students to study a wider range of subjects concurrently, demonstrating a depth and breadth of knowledge. • redmaidshigh.co.uk

NEW AMBASSADOR FOR PENNY BROHN TV favourite and actor Tom Read Wilson, best known for his role on Celebs Go Dating, has been announced as the new ambassador for charity Penny Brohn UK, which supports people living with cancer. “I’m so proud to lend my voice to help more people living with cancer hear about Penny Brohn UK. This charity is truly unique,” Tom said. “From their online cancer support and their specialist cancer retreats at the beautiful, tranquil centre near Bristol – a tonic in and of itself – to their signature whole person approach to cancer, led by expert practitioners – you have a remarkable institution. For me, becoming Ambassador for such an extraordinary charity is deeply inspiring.” • pennybrohn.org.uk 44 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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BUSINESS BOOMS As travel restrictions disappear across Asia and Japan’s borders reopen, Inside Travel Group and its specialist travel brands, InsideJapan and InsideAsia Tours, are excited to be able to fuel growth once again with committed investment and capital from private investment group, Blandford Capital LLP. The transaction was coordinated by regional, and travel-sector focussed teams at KPMG’s Corporate Finance division providing lead advisory services together with legal advisory to the company throughout from law firm TLT. • insidetravel.com

LOOKING FOR A NEW SPORT? Real Tennis, although full of traditions and intriguing quirks, is a modern and upcoming game with courts and clubs around the globe. There are just over 50 courts around the world and Bristol’s Real Tennis Club has one of them. The club has just signed a new Head Professional, the World Number 4, Ben Taylor-Matthews and will soon be celebrating its 25th anniversary. In celebration, the committee has launched a scheme to train up the next generation of Real Tennis professionals. The Investing In Professionals scheme is looking for apprentices who would like a career in sport. It offers onsite teaching and development, alongside academic qualifications that can be used outside of the sport. This is a superb opportunity to learn from one of the best players in the world. Candidates should be between the ages of 18 – 25 with racquet sport experience. • Contact The Bristol Real Tennis Club on email@bristolrealtennisclub.org.uk or 0117 9733444

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Making an

impact

Impact Mentoring is an innovative mentoring project designed to inspire young people to refocus their energy towards something meaningful, developing their aspirations in education and personal development. This month, we put the award-winning Bristol-based charitable scheme in the spotlight…

s we reach the two-year mark of the initial wave of pandemic-induced school shutdowns, academic normalcy remains out of reach for many students, teachers and parents. The cumulative impact of the pandemic on students’ academic achievements has undoubtedly been significant and it is likely to have a long-lasting impact on young people’s mental health and the school services that support them. With this in mind, we take a closer look at Impact Mentoring, an awardwinning Bristol-based charitable scheme that works with children and young adults across the South West with varying levels of need. Based in Kingswood, Impact works tirelessly to facilitate positive and structured mentoring and learning activities that support young people to progress with all the skills needed in life. The team believe that through effective relationships with adults, young people can reach their potential whatever their starting point. Impact provides a safe space that can support the transition back into the more structure settings of education, college or training. Set up in 2014 by Wayne Cockram – a former soldier and personal trainer who was shocked by the lack of support for vulnerable young people – Impact has supported thousands of local teenagers who have either fallen out of full-time education altogether or just need a little extra guidance during their schooling years. Speaking about how Impact first came about, Wayne said: “It wasn’t until I spent time in Sierra Leone as a young solider that I really got to see just how lucky I was. It really opened my eyes to how some young people are not given the same opportunities as others and in some cases were really suffering. Two years later I left 48 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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Founder and managing director of Impact Mentoring, Wayne Cockram

the army and trained as a personal trainer and sports coach. Within a few months, I had a thriving business working in local schools, clubs and doing personal training. I loved coaching young people, but I was always aware that some young people were not being given an opportunity to succeed.” After encountering a number of pupils that were struggling, Wayne worked with South Gloucestershire council and its schools to set up provisions to help young people through difficult situations. A great success, Wayne went on to work at the council for over ten years, running projects that gained national attention and improving the literacy and numeracy of hundreds of young people. Frustrated by the constant budget constraints that kept hindering projects, however, leaving vulnerable children without support, Wayne founded Impact. Three years after its inception, the former soldier was recognised at the Natwest Great British Entrepreneur Awards as an Entrepreneur for Good and his new company, Impact, won the Social Care Awards Best Youth Mentoring Project. Having evolved enormously over the last eight years, now boasting a 70-strong team of mentors working across six local authorities including Bristol, South Gloucestershire, Gloucestershire North, Somerset, Bath and Wiltshire, Impact’s support ranges from a sixweek programme of tailored help to three years’ support for the most vulnerable adolescents. In addition, it offers a range of learning programmes and tutoring opportunities. The team are always on the look-out for new ways to reach those in need, driven by the desire to help young people thrive both inside and outside of the classroom, helping them to reflect on their situations and refresh themselves in

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BRISTOL PROJECTS

an environment where they feel nurtured and safe. Some of the services that Impact offers are: One-to-one mentoring At Impact, the team know that trust is central to self-belief and progress. This means that they promote one-to-one mentoring as a foundation to positive change. The mentors – who have a diverse set of qualifications and experiences – are chosen for their passion to help young people develop their inter-personal skills. One-to-one mentoring can be transformational and gives young people a listening ear, access to support, guidance and wisdom while enjoying themselves. According to Impact, this service is their prescription to aspiration. Learning programmes Impact’s learning programmes involve improving young people’s confidence, helping them to complete challenges along the way. The team offers a number of pre-vocational courses. Tutoring Impact’s tutoring team support the development of English and Maths skills and re-engage students in their learning. This can be through bespoke project-based work using functional skills or using the materials and platforms provided by a commissioning partner. The company’s tutors can also provide an appropriate learning environment with flexibility and real-world experiences. Tutoring is often included alongside mentoring in a support package. Post-16 provision Many young adults may not be ready to take the leap towards a college course, vocational training or employment. Therefore, Impact builds packages to build confidence and resilience for post-16 students. The nurturing environment of the teams’ headquarters, plus

tutoring and learning programmes, can be a solid-stepping stone for many. Impact also signposts and networks to help find additional opportunities for work and volunteering experiences to enrich their work. n • If you’re interested in finding out more about Impact Mentoring or would like to start your journey with Impact today, visit: impactmentoring.co.uk

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FURTHER LEARNING

Get on

course Who said old dogs can’t learn new tricks? Here’s a few adult courses available around the city if you’re in the market to take up a new pursuit, challenge or discover that hidden talent and add a new string to your bow...

UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL The University of Bristol welcomes mature students to apply for one of their three part-time pathway programmes, starting in January 2023. The courses are open to all, with no qualifications required to apply. Reading English Literature is designed to help students develop skills in literary study, critical thinking and essaywriting. Black History Revisited explores contemporary debates surrounding Black History, the transatlantic slave trade and the sociology of race. Mastering English Literature is for those who wish to sharpen their study skills and bridges the gap between undergraduate and postgraduate study. These courses offer a taste of higher education and offer a variety of progression routes, with many students going on to study on the part-time BA English Literature and Community Engagement degree (ELCE), on one of Bristol’s Foundation courses or onto an MA at Bristol. Applications are still open to join the unique part-time ELCE degree, please visit www.bristol.ac.uk/elce to find out more. • University of Bristol Arts Complex, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1TB. 0117 928 8924; www.bristol.ac.uk/english/study/part-time. www.bristol.ac.uk/history/study/part-time/ 50 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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THE MAKERSHED

NATURE BASED COURSES IN BRISTOL

The Makershed mission is to provide space for making and learning, for everyone, no matter their level of experience, to be as creative as possible. You'll receive a friendly welcome by their team of talented tutors who offer a vast range of skill sets, knowledge and experience to teach students. Based in their workshop spaces at St Paul's Learning Centre they run a huge range of courses and workshops including Woodwork with hand or power tools, Upholstery, Sharpening, Wood Finishing, Wood Carving, Fabric Weaving, Lino Printing, Fabric Dyeing, Sewing and Pallet Wood Workshops. You can choose from daytime, evening and weekend courses. Book now for the Autumn/Winter terms via their website. • St. Paul's Learning Centre, 94 Grosvenor Road, Bristol, BS2 8XJ 07599 670365 themakershedbristol.co.uk

Practical Bird Field Skills Get to know more about the wonderful birds that call our countryside home and how to get started on your birdwatching journey. This beginner course will cover basic fieldcraft and techniques including the use of binoculars and field guides and will give you a chance to get out into the beautiful woods and heaths surrounding Grow Wilder to put this theory into practice. Thu 08, September 2022 10:00 - 17:00

SHIFT BRISTOL - THE PRACTICAL SUSTAINABILITY COURSE One Year, Part-time, from Sept to July - Bookings open each January Shift Bristol is a not for profit organisation providing innovative and training in meeting our needs sustainably and building resilience. With 20 years experience of teaching practical skills, design systems and collaborative approaches Shift Bristol invites you to find your passion, challenge yourself and take positive action. The Practical Sustainability Course is an opportunity to immerse yourself in an in-depth, hands-on and dynamic learning experience. Ten modules: Permaculture Design, Woodland Management, Organic Horticulture, Soil and Ecology, Re-localisation, Green Energy, Green Building, Group Dynamics, Community Engagement, Creating Change. “This Course will change your life” “Delivered expertly by passionate and knowledgeable Tutors” Cost: Sliding scale £3,595, £2995, £2,395. • www.shiftbristol.org.uk

Botanical Folklore Trees and wildflowers have been beneficial in terms of industry and medicine but also sacred to a variety of civilisations throughout time. This introductory folklore course will look at the history, mythology, and significance of a variety of trees and common wildflower species. Sun 18, September 2022 10:00 - 17:00 • Field Studies Council @ Grow Wilder, Frenchay Park Rd, Bristol BS16 1HB field-studiescouncil.org/bristol/

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FURTHER LEARNING

LAUREN HOLLOWAY – SEWING WORKSHOPS Lauren Holloway offers a range of sewing workshops in Bristol and the South West from beginner to intermediate level, where you can learn the basics of using a domestic sewing machine, brush up on existing sewing skills or develop new techniques to improve your craft, all in a relaxed, supportive and fun environment. You’ll leave the workshop with new-found knowledge, confidence and inspiration for future projects plus you’ll take home a beautiful handmade bag you can enjoy for years to come. With all materials and sewing machines provided, Lauren will guide you through the whole process, showing you how to use the machine, construct your bag, and also offering plenty of sewing tips and tricks along the way. • Laurenholloway.uk

NATIONAL CENTRE FOR INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE (NCIM) Integrative Medicine describes the intelligent combination of conventional, lifestyle and holistic approaches in one model of healthcare. It’s underpinned by key concepts of wellness, resilience and whole person health. NCIM is led by doctors and offers accredited training for healthcare professionals as well as learning events that members of the public can join. The centre also offers holistic healthcare services to individuals and community wellbeing workshops. Book now to attend a one-day online event ‘Living Well in Later Life’ (23 September). It’s a day of cutting-edge learning that will help us explore how ready we are for our own or our loved ones’ old age and ask, ‘what does it mean to age well?’ • www.ncim.org.uk/events

ART CLASSES AT RWA Art classes for all abilities are back at RWA following a major transformation of the space. You can join them in their refurbished Studio in Clifton for courses and workshops that include woodblock printmaking, bookbinding, painting for beginners, life drawing and more. You can also head to Zoom for the popular 'Dog Drawing' with artist Sally Muir and they also run off-site classes. A few of the new courses draw on the themes of their summer exhibition 'Earth: Digging Deep in British Art 1781 2022'. Oh, and don't forget to grab a cuppa in their new Spicer+Cole cafe while you are there! Gift vouchers available. • Royal West of England Academy, Queens Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1PX rwa.org.uk

PAINTING BIRDS ART COURSES ON EXMOOR BY MOOR & SEA HOLIDAYS Taught by Samantha Buckley introducing students to the beautiful technique of Indian miniature painting. Taking inspiration from the surrounding Exmoor landscape and the Mughal art of capturing nature, in particular birds. Students will use traditional materials to create their own unique painting. The first step will be paper preparation, staining and burnishing. Next, an introduction to pigments, how to prepare the Indian palette and paint using the traditional technique of colour flooding. Finally, students will use the technique known as Prataj, or invisible shading, to create the fine detail using the unique squirrel brush found only in India. During the 3 days there will also be an opportunity to explore the surrounding area for inspiration. 14-16 October. £220 per person including lunch, tea/coffee and cake. Accommodation extra. Glass classes taught by Bridget Birse can also be arranged for anyone staying at Moor and Sea (subject to availability) please contact for details and to book. • 07794594916; Moorandseaholidays.co.uk 52 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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Reader promotion

We love our families and we love our homes. One lucky family will win over £750 of photography!

aving a family photo shoot these days is a far cry from days of old when you may have been in your Sunday best sitting on a chair trying your best to put on a genuine smile whilst the photographer coerced you with ‘say cheese’. Everyone’s shoot had the same props poses and back grounds, just the faces changes but little was done to capture the unique personality of the family or the individuals in it. The end result, if you were lucky, was to walk away with some average images in brown folders that would end up in a drawer or maybe in a frame if you ever got round to it. The pictures would be so cringe-worthy that as the years went by they would be items of amusement and a joke rather than the family heirloom that they could have been. These days the whole experience is a lot more relaxed and fun with the aim being to create an environment where each family has the opportunity to capture its unique personality and the personalities of each person in that family. We are all different, every parent and child, from quiet and thoughtful to zany and crazy, everyone has something that makes them, them! And the aim of a good portrait photographer is to capture it. The sessions go at a pace dictated by each family and are a relaxed and fun with the family experience always at the forefront. Images are now viewed a week or so later on a big screen, fully retouched with special effects added, Kleenex at the ready as you see your loved ones in a whole new light. The end result should be a big selection images on various back grounds with a plethora of poses and props all in a contemporary to classic style that will not date. The images should make the heart melt with emotions and feelings of family values and a record of personalities and a reminder of how precious our loved ones are.

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The final chosen images are hand mounted and framed in timeless designs that mean they will hang in pride of place in the family home and will always be a reminder of the most precious days of our family lives and values. A precious family heirloom that does not date and always returns your mind to a happy time and place. Clifton Photographic has been delighting families for over 20 years offering first class services and products from their lovely studios on Alma Road in Clifton. Still as passionate today as they were when they began about creating amazing portraits for your family. In this special prize draw, they are offering one lucky family the chance to experience a family photoshoot worth £65 and £700 to spend as they wish on images of their choice. There will also be a complimentary family session with one complimentary image for every family that enters using the QR code below. Family values are so important these days in a disjointed world of rushing around, screen time, distractions and drama. Make the time with your family this summer to capture the magic of your family. To enter simply scan the QR code.

74/76 Alma Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 2DJ Tel: 0117 909 8985 Web: cliftonphoto.co.uk

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FASHION

Budehaven Midi Dress • £79.95

Nautical

notes

Find joie de vivre in Seasalt Cornwall’s Summer 22 collection. Inspired by the maritime heritage and landscape of Cornwall, the sustainable brand has created summer staples with handcrafted prints, garment-dyed soothing colours and characterful textures for classic and relaxed looks. Delve into the coastal-inspired collection here....

Shop all items at seasaltcornwall.com and enjoy Seasalt Cornwall’s summer sale!

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Frescoed Checked Dress • £79.95

Rockpool sunglasses • £35

Clover Bloom Shorts • £49.95

Free Day Organic Cotton Jumper • £62.95

Heather Bell Jumpsuit in Light Fathom • £79.95

Lily Loch Jersey Dress • £65

Sweeping Sands Visor • £22.95

Open Skies Leather Sandals • £45

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BEAUTY

CARE HAIR

FOR

YOUR

Layla Touati, assistant beauty manager and make-up artist at Harvey Nichols Bristol, shares her top high summer haircare recommendations. All products are available at Harvey Nichols Bristol; harveynichols.com

SISLEY, Hair Rituel Revitalising Smoothing Shampoo 500ml, £108 Sisley’s Revitalizing Smoothing Shampoo with macadamia oil gently cleans while providing the necessary vitamins and minerals for the vitality of the scalp and the hair. Its formula benefits from a combination of effective active ingredients targeting the hair bulb and the fibre.

SLIP, Slip Pure Silk Large Scrunchies – Multi, £39 Step up your hair tie game and switch to a large Slip scrunchie. They are gentle on your delicate hair and fashionable at the same time. Traditional hair ties can tug on delicate hair which can lead to damage and breakage. Slip scrunchies are made with slipsilk™, the same silk used in the award-winning Slip pure silk pillowcase.

COLOR WOW, Pop & Lock 55ml, £19.50 Color Wow’s Pop & Lock works inside and out to repair texture, add epic shine and deliver brilliant colour. It also protects against UV rays.

GHD, Bodyguard – Heat Protect Spray 120ml, £19 SOL DE JANEIRO, Triple Brazilian Butter Hair Repair Treatment 238ml, £35

Maximise your heat styling routine without fear of heat damage with ghd Bodyguard – Heat Protect Spray. Creating a protective layer between the heat of your styling tool and the hair, ghd Bodyguard harnesses a two-fold action of protection polymers and conditioning agents to protect the integrity of your hair from heat damage, allowing you to create flawless styles with hair that looks and feels healthier.

Treat. Strengthen. Repair. Repeat. Harness the power of Sol De Janeiro’s Brazilian Hair Expertise with this mighty mask created to repair damage and provide deep nourishment for dry strands – all without unwanted weight or heaviness. A game-changing triple-butter formula combines the coveted hair secrets of Brazil with Sol De Janeiro’s proprietary SOL Seal Technology™ to mend split ends after just one use.

COLOR WOW, X Chris Appleton Money Masque 215ml, £39.50 Color Wow’s Money Masque is your rags to riches texture solution. This deep hydrating treatment rich in Mediterranean plant-based proteins, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals helps deliver super glossy, supple, expensive-looking hair. Money Masque is the DIY secret to celebrity hairstylist Chris Appleton’s signature sexy styles. No sulphates. Cruelty-free. Gluten-free. Vegan. Ethically sourced. Fair Trade. Sustainable.

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OLAPLEX, No. 7 Bonding Oil 30ml, £28 OLAPLEX’s No. 7 Bonding Oil is a highly concentrated, weightless reparative styling oil that dramatically increases shine, softness, and colour vibrancy. N°7 minimises flyaways and frizz, while providing UV/heat protection of up to 450°F/232°C. The formula repairs damaged and compromised hair while strengthening and protecting its structure. Hair is left restored with a healthy appearance and texture.

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Put back pain behind you Back pain or nerve pain affecting the arms or legs can affect anyone at any time of life, bringing misery to sufferers and seriously affecting their quality of life. Here, Nuffield Health Bristol Hospital offers advice on how to solve your spinal problems.

ffecting over 80 percent of us at some stage in our lives, back pain is the most common cause of absence from work in the UK. It could be the result of a slipped disc, arthritis of the spinal joints, repeated minor stresses, bone deterioration, or an injury. However, by reducing the stresses and strains on the spine during daily activities, the risk of developing back pain or limb pain from spinal nerve compression can be lessened. Therefore, it is important to be constantly aware of maintaining a good posture, both at home and at work.

Daily spinal health checklist: • Be aware of your posture and ensure your spine is straight and well-balanced. • Take time to improve core muscle tone, and set aside a few minutes each day for tensing exercises of your stomach, pelvic and back muscles. • Good exercises for back muscles include swimming, walking, cycling and gentle keep-fit. • Maintain a good body weight to avoid unnecessary strain on your spinal joints. • Remember to use correct lifting techniques and distribute the weight evenly while carrying. • Don’t bend when you could kneel or squat, and never stoop or bend over for prolonged periods, especially for lifting. • If bending over or sitting for a long time, gently stretch backwards when standing up. • Avoid sit ups, double leg lifts, and touching toes. • Always warm up and stretch before sport, and cool down and stretch afterwards.

Many spinal problems can be prevented and some can be self-treated. However, when the symptoms do not settle, or worsen, then professional help and advice may be needed. Patients with persistent or progressive symptoms can benefit from a specialist assessment and diagnostic spinal MRI scanning with a view to offering physiotherapy, injection therapy, and pain management. Mr Mark Nowell, a Consultant Spinal Neurosurgeon at Nuffield Health Bristol Hospital, explains: “Degenerative changes to the spine are very common, and present in almost all adults. If a nerve is compressed, this can cause pain in the arm or leg. In the majority of cases, symptoms are mild or improve with conservative measures. This includes medication, physiotherapy, injection treatments, and education on core strengthening exercise and injury avoidance. “Occasionally symptoms are severe, have a profound effect on quality of life, and do not respond to non-surgical treatments. In these patients, spinal surgery may provide the best route to pain relief and return to normal life. If we are confident that a compressed nerve is the pain generator, targeted microsurgical decompression of this nerve within an appropriate timeframe has excellent results, with greater than 80% success rate. Duration of symptoms is important, however – a recent study has shown that surgery has lower success rates if the nerve pain lasted over a year, so seeking treatment quickly after first developing symptoms could make a significant difference to a patient’s overall recovery.”

The spinal team at Nuffield Health Bristol Hospital provides comprehensive assessment and treatment for a range of spinal conditions, taking a multidisciplinary approach to ensure they find the right treatment pathway for each individual patient. In addition to Mr Nowell (pictured), also available for consultation are fellow Consultant Neurosurgeons Mr Nitin Patel, Mr Nik Patel and Mr Neil Barua, and Consultant Orthopaedic Spinal Surgeons Mr Ian Harding, Mr Stephen Morris and Mr Michael Katsimihas. The team also includes specialist Consultants in Pain Medicine, Dr Gareth Greenslade and Dr Gaurav Chhabra, who offer non-surgical treatments, along with physiotherapists, radiologists and specialist nurses who ensure a smooth diagnosis and recovery. If you’ve been suffering from back or neck pain and would like to book an appointment with one of our specialist Spinal Consultant Surgeons at Nuffield Health Bristol Hospital, call 0117 911 6062, or visit our website: www.nuffieldhealth.com/hospitals/bristol.

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Nuffield Health Bristol Hospital 3 Clifton Hill, Bristol BS8 1BN nuffieldhealth.com/hospitals/bristol

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HEALTH & WELLBEING

Protect

your skin

Ade Williams MBE, lead pharmacist at Bedminster Pharmacy and brilliant Bristol ambassador shares his knowledge on how to take care in the sun...

“

ear Sunscreen” is a message that remains ever urgent and dateless. Based on the original 1996 essay by Mary Schmich, Baz Luhrmann’s spoken word song is enshrouded in the cult-classic appeal it has gained. Music preference, however, plays no part in explaining why the early-stage diagnoses of skin cancer in the South West remains higher than the national average across England, but sunscreen-use may. August is a month for creating summer memories, whether it is staying close to home or going on holiday abroad, researchers found that most people were looking forward to the Covid-19 restrictions being lifted. Sunburn, however, occurring even on a cloudy summer day, is a visible sign of skin damage, all from too much sun exposure, and it increases the risk of skin cancer. If your skin is white, it may appear red or pink because of the damage, whereas if you have brown or black skin, the colour change is absent or less obvious, but everyone, irrespective of skin complexion, is still at risk for sun-related skin cancer. Never have a false sense of immunity based on your natural skin complexion. Remember: there is no safe or healthy way to get a tan. A tan is a sign of skin damage – not health – and does not protect your skin from the sun’s harmful effects. To stay safe in the UK sun, from March to October, spend time in the shade when the sun is strongest; wear a long-sleeved top, trousers or long skirts in close-weave fabrics that do not allow sunlight and a wide-brimmed hat or cap that shades the face, neck and ears. Sunglasses with wraparound lenses or wide arms are best for protecting your eyes. Crucially, slap on the sunscreen. Sunscreen typically has a shelf life of six to 12 months as the SPF efficacy reduces with time. Get a new one every year. Storing sun cream at high temperatures or direct sunlight can also decrease its shelf life. We know that cosmetic features alongside the protection offered are a critical factor in the choice of sunscreen. Since learning this, a quote I discovered and share regularly is: “The advances in sunscreen formulas mean it’s no longer necessary to settle for products that clog pores, leave white casts, or don’t pair well with make-up”. Smaller bottle sizes and free samples also mean finding the right match is a less wasteful or expensive endeavour. Alongside claims about skin hydration, better absorption, and additional anti-ageing and anti-wrinkle benefits, it must have the correct properties to do the job of protection effectively. Many people are confused by the protection ratings on sunscreen. Higher SPF of at least 30 and UVA star ratings of at least four provide the best sun protection, and experts also suggest reapplying sunscreen every two hours when out in the sun, irrespective of what the packaging says. The results of a test on once-a-day sun creams carried out by WHICH? – the consumer magazine – found that the 60 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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Ade Williams’ portrait as taken by acclaimed photographer Rankin

SPF level of once-a-day sun creams fell by 74% after six to eight hours. Many pharmacies retail wrist bands that change colour when sunscreen is needed and coloured formulation products that can indicate visually when reapplication is necessary. If going into the sun for an extended period, remember the 30 plus 1-second rule. Apply for the first time 30 minutes before going out, then a second just before you leave the house. Use a water-resistant sunscreen if you will be likely to sweat or have contact with water. Sunscreen should be reapplied straight after you have been in the water, even if it's “water resistant”, and after towel drying, sweating or when it may have rubbed off. All children, anyone with pale, white or light brown skin, freckles, or red/fair hair, who has many moles, a family history of skin cancer, skin problems due to a medical condition or is taking sun sensitivityrelated to medicines you take, should take extra care in the sun. Recent extreme weather events have brought warnings regarding the adverse health impact of irreversible manmade climate change into our collective focus. We will likely face new challenges for which we yet have no solutions. Whether in a hot country, where the sun is particularly intense or in the West Country, enjoying our glorious summer, please apply the correct type of sunscreen to protect yourself. • Follow Ade on Twitter: @adewilliamsnhs; and keep up to date with Bedminster Pharmacy: @bedminsterpharm

Curo fp August.qxp_Layout 23 18/07/2022 17:06 Page 1

CHRONIC PAIN MANAGEMENT James Scrimshaw of CURA CLINICAL explains how new technologies are providing effective answers to people’s pain and suffering

MBST Cell regeneration: What is MBST? MBST uses exactly the same technology as MRI scanning, just without the detector coils and imaging software. MBST stands for Molecular Biophysical Stimulation. It was discovered by a German doctor who noticed that some of his MRI patients had reduced symptoms following their MRI scans. He then assembled a team of biologists and physicists to research these positive effects at a cellular level. Cells that had not functioned properly due to damage, were stimulated in such a way by the energy transfer that they could again fulfil their original tasks. It does this at cell level in a number of ways: • • • • •

Optimising cell oxygen levels Improving Cell energy production Optimising intercellular signalling pathways Reducing inflammatory mediators Readjusting cell circadian clock-leading to less cell death and cell reproduction.

This translates to you and I as a healing process in the tissue the energy is applied to which leads to a reduction in pain and an increase in the natural mobility and lifestyle of the patient without any need of invasive therapy. Obviously there are limitations of the effects relating to a number of factors such as severity and complexity of a patient’s case, however the technology is constantly being improved and we’re getting better at selecting the right patients and conditions in order to get higher success rates and better overall results. ■

The results we’re seeing now in patients with varying injuries and conditions is really remarkable.

I’ve also just discharged Kate, 5 months following treatment for her arthritic knees (she’d already had a half knee replaced). She’s now pain free… I anticipate these results will last a number of years.

Rob (above) is a great example of how MBST heals cartilage in a moderate to severe arthritic knee. 15 months after his MBST therapy he now runs, plays racket ball and golf without any pain and that’s without his braces. He’s recently done a course on his severe arthritic neck and after 3-4 months has significantly less neck pain and improved mobility. Over the next 6 months I expect his condition to reach over 90% improvement.

MBST is an award-winning innovation designed to manage long-term injury and osteoarthritis. To discuss your treatment, contact Cura’s Clinical Director, James Scrimshaw today

0117 959 6531 curaclinical.com

THEBRISTOLMAG.CO.UK

MAY 2022

THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE 15

ANDREW SWIFT – AUGUST v4.qxp_Layout 2 18/07/2022 14:21 Page 1

Thornbury High Street c1910

Looking

back

... at the market town of Thornbury. This month, Andrew Swift explores its history, its heritage and the debate surrounding “one of the best-preserved and most vibrant High Streets around”...

n the face of it, Thornbury may seem like a place where little has ever happened, where things change slowly, and where everyone gets on amicably. The last place, you might think, to be a flashpoint for one of the most contentious issues of our time – how to keep cars and pedestrians apart. Thornbury was laid out as a walled town in the mid-13th century, and its original street pattern still survives. When the antiquarian John Leland visited around 1540, he described its layout as being in the form ‘of the letter Y, having first one long street and two horns going out of it. There hath been good clothing in Thornbury, but now idleness much reigneth there.’ ‘Good clothing’ referred to the cloth trade, once the mainstay of the town’s prosperity, which had clearly fallen on hard times, and that ‘long street’ was the High Street, the venue for its weekly market. In 1803, when Thomas Rudge published his History of Gloucestershire, he recorded that ‘the clothing business is now entirely lost’, the market ‘is little attended’, and, while the town had ‘some good houses, and persons of property … with a few exceptions, the buildings are old and bad, and the inhabitants poor’. Good times were just around the corner, however. In the first half of the 19th century, Thornbury’s population rose by over 70%. Trade flooded into the town, cheese and livestock markets filled the High Street, new businesses were established and new buildings sprang up. The High Street’s two main inns, the Swan and the White Lion, in a bid to outshine each other, installed enormous statues – of a swan and a lion – above their porches. The dawn of the railway age sounded the knell for Thornbury’s brief renaissance, however. None of the lines that spread across Gloucestershire came anywhere near the town. When a railway did finally arrive, in 1872, it was a slow, single-track branch from Yate,

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with three trains a day. It did nothing to stem the town’s decline. Three years later a guidebook described Thornbury as ‘a quiet place, of little bustle or trade’, although it admitted that ‘its weekly market brings together a goodly number of farmers and others with the produce of the surrounding country’. Its population plummeted and by 1901 there were fewer people in the town than there had been a century earlier. Thereafter, Thornbury stagnated, and in 1944, as if to underline its decline, the railway, which had come so late, closed, making it one of the first towns in the country to lose its station. Today, though, Thornbury’s population – just over 3,000 in 1951 – stands at more than 12,500. Thornbury is thriving. But, because it was never industrialised, and because of that long period of decline, its three main streets still look much as they did in the early 19thcentury. Not only that, but virtually all modern development has been to the north-east of the town centre. So you can still turn off the High Street down narrow lanes which lead through gaps in the old borough walls into open country, where field paths and green lanes lead westward to the Severn shore. For an even more startling evocation of Regency times, you can stroll south along the High Street to Rosemount House, whose elegant verandas still look out across fields and woods to the distant line of the silvery Severn as they did when the house was built in 1836. Although Thornbury is characterised by modest, vernacular architecture, there are two buildings that are anything but modest. A third of a mile to the north, set amid fields, is St Mary’s, one of the most imposing churches in Gloucestershire, while beyond it lies a vast battlemented castle, which the Duke of Buckingham started to build around 1507. When he was executed for treason in 1521, it was still far from finished – although good enough for Henry VIII to stay there for ten days with Anne Boleyn while touring the West

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT Country a few years later. Thereafter, it fell into disrepair, and, although it was partially reroofed in 1720, full restoration had to wait until 1854. It’s now a luxury hotel, making much of its Tudor connections. The castle is so remote from the town centre, though, that it would be possible for someone to visit Thornbury for years without being aware of its existence. It is the High Street that most people visit Thornbury for, and, on the face of it, it looks to be in rude health. Hardly any of its shops lie empty, and independent businesses – many of them clearly long established – seem to outnumber chains. The White Lion and the Swan are still very much in business, and their cast-iron statues still square up to each other across the street as they did two centuries ago. Next to the White Lion, in a 17th-century building that was a butcher’s for over 250 years, is Thornbury’s newest pub, the Butcher’s Hook, still fitted out with wood panelling and period features. With pubs across the land closing at an unprecedented rate, the opening of a new one on Thornbury’s High Street is a sure sign of confidence in its future. It is not so much history and heritage that characterises the High Street as a sense of continuity. As the town has grown, it has been repurposed to serve changing demands and shopping patterns. Today, though, it faces a new challenge, with the implementation of changes which – depending on your point of view – will either provide a much needed boost or lead to its demise. In June 2020, South Gloucestershire Council closed the High Street to through traffic to help shoppers comply with social distancing. A few months later, they announced that they wanted the changes to be made permanent, claiming that it would increase footfall and give people more of a reason to visit their local high street. Many disagreed, claiming the changes would ‘wreck the economy of the High Street’, and were tantamount to the ‘destruction of Thornbury’. As the debate rumbled on, in May 2022 Thornbury Town Council organised a poll, asking residents if they wanted the High Street reopened as a through route with parking bays on both sides. The result was overwhelming – 72% of voters wanted the changes scrapped – although only 23% of those eligible to vote did so.

Thornbury High Street today

The White Lion and the Butcher's Hook

Thornbury Castle from the churchyard

Field paths and green lanes lead westward

The benefits of pedestrianisation to local businesses will always be mixed. For some traders, it may mean the loss of customers who relied on parking outside their premises. For pubs and cafes, on the other hand, it provides opportunities for expanding outside into territory once reserved for cars. In Thornbury, benches and tables have already begun to take over the former parking bays as a cafe culture slowly emerges. For the moment, though, walking along Thornbury High Street at quieter times, when the loudest sound is that of your own footsteps, while undeniably pleasant, can be a little disorienting. But, while it gives you plenty time to reflect on what it must have been like in Regency times, it is impossible not to reflect on what it could be like in the future, enlivened by al fresco conversation, shouts of market traders, chatter and laughter from tables outside pubs and cafes, buskers, entertainers, events, mini-festivals … the possibilities are endless, and the crowds drawn in would surely take the place of those who no longer visit the High Street because they can’t park in it. The move to make High Streets and other urban spaces places where people want to congregate, rather than places most people pass swiftly through, is a global one. Thirty years ago, there were those who wanted the dual carriageway running through the middle of Bristol’s Queen Square to stay where it was. We’ve come a long way since then, but, while recent road closure schemes in Bristol such as those on King Street and Cotham Hill have been broadly welcomed, others – such as those at Princess Victoria Street in Clifton and Sr Mark’s Road in Easton – have proved more divisive. There can be little doubt, though, the trend to exclude cars from urban spaces will continue – as will the arguments. It can only be hoped that the prognostications of doom for Thornbury’s High Street prove unfounded, and that local traders and the local community can make it even more successful than it is now. But enough of the arguments – why not visit Thornbury to see for yourself one of the best-preserved and most vibrant High Streets around, and perhaps take a walk to have a look at the castle and explore those green lanes leading westward? n • akemanpress.com THEBRISTOLMAG.CO.UK

AUGUST 2022

THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE 63

INTERIORS – AUGUST v3.qxp_Layout 2 22/07/2022 16:19 Page 1

Geo Mono Porcelain tiles from Mandarin Stone

run

The decoration of human spaces started way back in time with mark-making, where hand-drawn notations and images were used to create narratives of the creators’ lives. The use of patterns and pictures on our walls has continued to dominate, because these are ways of expressing our inner character and ownership of the places we call home. Here, three interior designers tempt us with their own approaches to pattern... Alison Bracey, Bracey Interiors Ltd Patterned fabrics or wallpapers are a great way of adding interest and character to a room. The injection of patterned and multicoloured fabrics can change the dynamics of a space. Careful selection of something as simple as a cushion can often be the trigger point, allowing you to introduce more colours into the area. For some, there is a reluctance to mix patterns but with careful selection you can reflect your personality in your interior design. Here at Bracey Interiors, we believe that to be successful the design of a room should reflect the occupants. We embrace our clients’ preferences while injecting colour. Pattern and design doesn’t have to be overwhelming – it’s all about the colour palette and the contrasts you use. Wallpapers are becoming increasingly popular and whether it be small universal patterned designs, or mural designs, they can help define a room. 64 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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Our advice would be to go braver than you think, embrace pattern and you won’t go wrong – go for it! • braceyinteriors.co.uk; 15 Waterloo Street, Clifton, BS8 4BT

Louisa Morgan, Mandarin Stone Using patterned tiles in the home is an instant way to add character and style. In bathrooms, for maximum impact choose one patterned tile and use on both floors and walls. Consider tying in the style of patterned tile with the age of your property or overall interior scheme. Perhaps a more vintage, floral style for a country home or a bold, geometric design for a contemporary feel. While there’s plenty of choice, don’t be tempted to use multiple shades of patterned tiles in one space, just one or two shades will feel far more timeless and sophisticated. Alternatively use patterned floor

INTERIORS – AUGUST v3.qxp_Layout 2 22/07/2022 16:19 Page 2

A Woodhouse & Law design

Manuel Canovas wallpaper

John Law, Woodhouse and Law

a scheme, working together to evoke the overall emotion we take away from a space. Lighting, for example, can make or break what would otherwise be a great scheme; colour and texture are hugely important and immediately have an effect on our mood; effective spatial planning and the form of a space give a sense of balance. Then there’s the question of pattern; a word that elicits a range of emotions, from panic to excitement. At Woodhouse and Law, we very much view pattern as a source of energy within a scheme and something you can dial up or down as appropriate to give a space a real sense of depth and character. People often hang on to analogies such as ‘never more than one pattern in a room’ but the reality is that’s not the case. Pattern can be evident not only in a conventional sense in fabrics, say, but also in the brush strokes of a painting or framed print. Within a smaller space, it can be that bit more daunting when considering the prospect of bold pattern within a scheme; often people are fearful that this will somehow make a space feel smaller. In a design for a cloakroom, we wrapped Cole and Son’s Fornasetti wallpaper over the ceiling, where the design’s rolling pattern of clouds disguises the break between the walls and ceiling, giving the effect that the space is bigger than it actually is. In the same cloakroom, we used monochromatic tiles in the same palate to avoid the feeling of several patterns competing.

People often ask what makes an interior design scheme successful; this is never an easy question to answer. There are so many components to

• woodhouseandlaw.co.uk

tiles and opt for a plain wall tile in a complementary shade. For a more subtle approach use patterned tiles in feature areas such as in the shower area or as an eye-catching splashback. Hallways are a great place to use patterned tiles for packing a punch when you enter a property. Whether that’s more decorative Moroccan-inspired designs or classic black and white chequerboard. If actual patterned tiles seem too much, more subtle pattern can be achieved in other ways. Marble, or marble effect porcelain tiles have their own patterns of veining and shade variation or perhaps using a textured tile or chevron or hexagon shape could create just the right amount of interest. Other ways to create pattern is by using mosaics or simple brick-shaped tiles that can be laid in many ways to create stylish patterns. From herringbone to staggered brick layouts, creating your own bespoke tile laying patterns is an easy way to personalise a space with pattern. Thinking visually, you can paint the back of the shelf in a different colour or wallpaper it to give added interest. Flat-pack units can also be easily customised, for example by adding a wood trim to the top or sides. • mandarinstone.com; 15 Regent Street, Clifton, BS8 4HW

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AUGUST 2022

THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE 65

GARDINER HASKINS v2.qxp_Layout 2 18/07/2022 14:41 Page 1

Luxurious

living

This month, Gardiner Haskins’ Marketing Assistant Sophie Smith stepped into a freshly renovated Stoneham kitchen, designed by one of their interiors experts. Here, Sophie shares her thoughts on the luxurious renovation. Photography by Carine Butcher.

can describe Sally and Peter’s kitchen as nothing less than deluxe. As I observed the freshly renovated room, I could appreciate how much time and consideration was put into the design. Natural light seeped in through the large, Crittall-style doors resulting in a bright, open and welcoming space. Once we’d settled in and had a chat, I started to dig a little deeper to find out more about Sally’s experience with Gardiner Haskins. Sally already knew of Gardiner Haskins through a relative, and really got a feel for the company when she came to one of our cooking events. Upon visiting us again, she was able to come in and wander around the showrooms at her leisure. After soaking up the surroundings and getting some inspiration she spoke to Alec, one of our expert kitchen designers, to get the process started. The kitchen was originally smaller and in a galley type style. The plan was to extend it to the full width of the house and include a central kitchen island. This was hard to envision at first, but Sally was able to create a picture in her mind upon seeing an island unit in our showrooms. She also wanted a “free flowing” space which 66 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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Alec helped her achieve with cabinets running along only one side of the kitchen to create more space on the other side. It was clear that Sally didn’t shy away from pink tones. An excellent choice for the décor, really making the interior pop. From pink pineapples to beautiful bouquets, she had it all. So understandably, she fell in love with the pink island we had on display in-store, and it simply had to be part of her new kitchen. To compliment the subtle pink, Alec suggested navy blue and gold to complete the colour palette. The gold brings warmth to the kitchen, as well as a touch of luxury. The handles contrast nicely against the blue and pink cabinets and match the gold tap, chairs, lights and plant pots. To finalise the golden aesthetic, Sally has a gorgeous selection of gold cutlery, an upgrade from your standard silver knife and fork. It’s clear that Sally had put a lot of thought into the smaller details. By making the kitchen larger, there is now a lovely Crittall door looking into the lounge. This gives the feeling of an open plan space yet avoids cooking smells occupying both rooms. The kitchen also

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feels very social, a space perfect for “having friends round to sip wine while I cook dinner.” As Carine took photos and Sally and I chatted away, we had a fourlegged friend called Floyd trotting around. Sally’s friendly Labrador enjoyed taking regular intervals to sunbathe and made a fantastic model when posing for the photos. By far, Sally’s favourite feature of her new kitchen is the built-in, double door pantry and from a glance inside, you can see why. The storage of her dry food is impeccably organised, either in glass containers or placed strategically in drawers giving a minimal and uncluttered appearance. Additionally, the pantry fits the microwave, scales and coffee machine meaning space is freed up on the counter-tops and island. The gold Quooker tap also gains brownie points. When Sally’s working from home and needs to jump on a call, she can make a quick cup of tea in no time using the hot water feature. It’s the small things that count. Peter’s favourite feature would be the plug sockets built into the kitchen island. The intelligent design means they are hidden beneath

the surface and need to be gently pushed in order to flip round and be revealed. When the sockets aren’t in use they blend seamlessly into the island. Sally even said, “everyone always asks me what this is!”, so it’s a big crowd pleaser. Finally, they made the move from a traditional hob to an induction hob by Rangemaster, called ‘Nexus’. It’s far easier to use, clean and is generally safer which is convenient for when the nephews visit. The rest of the kitchen appliances are by Neff, a range our designers work closely with to supply our customers with the very best products. n • To follow Sally’s kitchen journey, find her home renovation inspired account on Instagram @itstartedwithapinkceiling. Is your kitchen in need of some vibrancy? Bold colours are now trending in the world of interiors, get ahead of the game with Gardiner Haskins. Visit their Bristol showrooms for some well-needed inspiration or book your free consultation; 01179 292 288; gardinerhaskins.co.uk THEBRISTOLMAG.CO.UK

AUGUST 2022

THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE 67

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FOUND UK Vintage furniture given a new lease of life!

FoundUK Email: jeﬀosbo@hotmail.com • 07875 129964

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THE

KI TC HEN PAR TNER S DESIGN STUDIO

www.thekitchenpartners.co.uk 102 Whiteladies Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 2QY 01179 466433

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THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE 69

GARDENING - AUGUST.qxp_Layout 2 18/07/2022 14:34 Page 1

A cut above Elly West explains the exponential benefits to dedicating part of your garden to growing cut flowers...

here aren’t many people who don’t enjoy a vase of fresh flowers providing colour, fragrance and a slice of summer. One of the many joys of this time of year is the opportunity to pick armfuls of flowers to brighten up the home. These ‘free’ pickings are so much more satisfying than choosing a bunch of often imported, over-priced blooms wrapped in cellophane from the supermarket. A visit to any allotment site is proof in point. Alongside the rows of beans and potatoes, there will be multitudes of blowsy dahlias, sunflowers, sweet peas and more, grown for cutting. The concept of growing flowers amongst the vegetables is nothing new. Traditional cottage gardens from the 18th century onwards used every inch of space to grow flowers, food crops, fruits and herbs, all jostling for space in a happy medley of colour. The emphasis was on practicality and space was at a premium in terms of providing sustenance to support a family. These were essentially gardens of self-sufficiency for the rural poor. But it’s a romantic ideal that persists today. Many of my clients asking for a new garden design aspire to the cottage garden, albeit a modern version – an informal, apparently artless style, with traditional planting that includes roses, lavender, foxgloves and 70 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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peonies. Borders can include space for cutting material, but I’ve also found more and more clients are asking for areas that can specifically be used to grow flowers for cutting, often in raised beds or tucked away with the produce, and I’m always happy to oblige. If you have the space, there are big advantages to dedicating part of your garden just to growing cut flowers. You’ll avoid depleting your flower beds, and you don’t need to think too hard about what will go well with what in terms of shapes, colours and sizes. Treat your flower patch like you would a vegetable plot and plant or sow in rows or blocks. Taller plants will need support, and if you’re not worried about the appearance of the bed, simple canes and string will probably suffice to stop plants flopping. Choose a spot that gets plenty of sun, and improve the soil if necessary so that it’s fertile and weed free. Organic compost or well-rotted horse manure will improve the structure and help to retain moisture. Raised beds are a good option as you can fill them with quality topsoil improved with organic matter, and they’re easy to maintain. When choosing plants to grow, there aren’t really any limits. Evergreen shrubs and those grown for their interesting stems, such as corkscrew hazel and colourful dogwood, will provide invaluable pickings in winter and early spring. Pittosporum and Eucalyptus

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GARDENING

gunnii produce ornamental foliage all year round. Bulbs will also extend the season with daffodils, hyacinths and tulips in spring, followed by lilies, crocosmias, gladioli and dahlias through summer and into autumn. The bulk of your cutting garden though, is likely to be annuals sown from seed. These require the least financial outlay and many can be sown directly into the soil where you want them to flower. Look out for those labelled as ‘hardy annuals’, which include sunflowers, nigella, cornflowers, poppies, marigolds and sweet peas. ‘Half-hardy annuals’ require a little more work as they’ll need starting off under cover in early spring in a greenhouse or on a sunny window-sill. Nicotiana, cosmos, snapdragons, phlox and zinnias fall into this category. Then there are perennials that die back in winter and re-emerge in spring each year, such as peonies, delphiniums, aquilegia, echinops and asters. Take time to plan, and you can have constant colour to bring indoors for the best part of a year. Maximise your space by taking the time to work out how many plants you can squeeze into each row or block. Successional sowings of seed, planting every two or three weeks, will keep the flowers coming, and cutting your flowers will also keep them producing more and more blooms. Never leave dead flowers on the plants as this will halt their flower production and they’ll shut down for the season as they turn to seed. Dead flowers will also attract pests and diseases, so cutting also increases the health of your plot. It’s a win-win situation. When harvesting your flowers, you can increase their vase life by taking them in the morning or evening and avoiding the heat of the day. Have a clean bucket of cool water ready to put them in. Cut the flower stems at an angle to increase the water uptake. Put your flowers in a cool shaded place until you’re ready to arrange them, and keep the water topped up once they are indoors. A tablespoon of sugar added will also make your flowers last longer, while a spoonful of white wine vinegar will inhibit bacteria growth and help stop the water turning green. Change the water regularly and recut the stems each time. n

Plant of the month: Dahlias These showy, exuberant flowers have had a relatively recent resurgence in popularity, and will light up the late-summer border. They are perfect for cutting, with flowers in all different colours, sizes and shapes held on long stems. The more you cut them, the more flowers they’ll produce. Many have a hot, tropical vibe that combines well with lush foliage plants such as cannas and ornamental grasses. They’ll also look great alongside other late-flowering, daisy-headed blooms such as rudbeckias and heleniums. Dahlias grow from bulb-like structures known as tubers that are not fully hardy, so will generally need lifting and storing over winter to protect them from frost, unless they are in a very sheltered position. They can then be potted back up in April and planted back out in the ground in May when no more frosts are forecast. Most prefer rich, well-drained soil in full sun, but the more compact varieties are also well suited to pots, which can then be placed in a greenhouse over winter.

• ellyswellies.co.uk

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Turning your ideas into beautiful spaces Elly’s Wellies Garden Designs will help you maximise the potential of your outdoor space and tailor it to your individual needs. Whether you are looking for a complete garden redesign, or just need advice on what to plant in a border, Elly’s Wellies will be happy to help.

For a free initial consultation, contact Elly West

www.ellyswellies.co.uk ellyswellies@gmail.com 07788 640934 72 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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THE PROPERTY COLUMN

Skirting

around

Rupert Oliver of Rupert Oliver Property Agents looks back at the history of skirting boards, dadoes and picture rails and explains how to accentuate these features in our homes today...

ueen Victoria came to the throne in 1837 and her reign of 63 years encompassed the tail end of Georgian building styles right through to the advent of the Arts and Crafts Movement. Census data shows that between 1831 and 1901, the year of Victoria’s death, the number of people living in England and Wales grew from 13.89 million to 32.51 million, a rise of 134 per cent. This naturally saw the volume of housing grow dramatically, including an increasing number of high terraces. The proportions, ornamentation and detailing of these homes is now a big part of their modern appeal. Even the most modest terraces came with elaborate ceiling roses and moulded cornices as well as embellished cast iron or marble fireplaces. The era also saw the widespread adoption of skirting boards, dadoes and picture rails. In the 1950s and 60s these features were seen by many as old-fashioned and were ripped out or partitioned off, but lovers of modern Victorian homes now see these architectural elements as essential in order to follow the design perspectives of the era, and maintain the period balance of a room. So where did the standard use of wall divisions introduced in the Victorian era – skirting, dadoes and picture rails – come from? Well there were both practical and aesthetic reasons. At that time walls were made from bricks, heat insulation was not effective, rising damp was a constant problem and many couldn’t afford a radiator. It’s also true that plaster finishes at the base of walls were often poorly finished, and they needed covering up. The skirting board helped deal with these issues. A skirting board also helped to make a large house look grander, with some skirtings achieving a height of 30cm plus, which would make high ceilings more obvious. Smaller houses, however, could not take such height and so smaller wooden skirting took its place. The dado rail is a section of architrave that sits about 90cm from the floor, although they can be lower or higher, in proportion to the ceiling height. Dado rails are used throughout halls, landings and stairs, reception rooms and sometimes in kitchens and bathrooms. The word ‘dado’ is drawn from the die (also known as a dado) in classical architecture, which sits above the base of a pedestal. During the Georgian period it was standard for dining chairs to be leant up against the walls, and the dado rails protected the décor – such as wallhangings or wallpaper – from damage by the chair backs. In the Victorian era, these rails began to disappear, but returned at the beginning of the 20th century as a decorative statement. The picture rail, which had in fact been around since the 15th century, has a more obvious practical application, enabling the hanging of pictures from a moveable hook that didn’t damage the wall surface. The plain fact was that banging a metal nail into a plaster wall in the

Victorian period (and before) was likely to have damaged the wall. Introduced as a standard feature around the 1840s, the metal hooks suspended over the rails created a display area above the dado rail. The wooden trim made from architrave generally frames the top 30cm of wall. The picture rail also supported the trend of buying pictures as the newly affluent demonstrated their buying power and immaculate taste by covering the walls with paintings, mirrors, and plates using picture rails. In terms of the perception of a room a picture rail also serves to balance out the height of the ceiling to give a room a better sense of proportion. Skirting boards have survived as a standard feature and have become an essential part of designing a room, no matter what the period of a house. Dadoes and picture rails are no longer used as a default, but are often seen in authentic Georgian and Victorian properties where they honour the period charm and proportions of a room. So how should we deal with these decorative elements in the modern period home? During the early 18th century, the panelled walls and the dado rail were often painted in one colour, increasing the perceived size of a room, and many modern designers use this technique of painting a wall from skirting to the cornice below the ceiling in the same colour. During the Victorian era, the frieze area between rail and ceiling would get decorative embellishment, but nowadays we tend prefer more streamlined, unfussy decoration. So when decorating, pay attention to the linear decorative elements in a room, which can have a massive impact on the way that the room is perceived and as the box here outlines, they can be decorated in a number of ways to fit with your own design scheme. • rupertoliver.co.uk; 14 Waterloo Street, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 4BT Top tips: • Go white above: Paint both the picture rail and the space above it in the same colour as the ceiling. This highlights the architectural feature, and brings the ceiling height down visually. • Use contrast: Draw attention to dado or picture rails by painting them a contrasting colour to the walls. • Go dark: An effective modern statement in a period house (while keeping the original features intact) is to paint an entire wall, including the picture or dado rail, skirting board a dark, atmospheric tone. • Stick to one shade: Painting a picture rail the same colour as the walls above and below allows the rail to add subtle detail without making it stand out too much.

THEBRISTOLMAG.CO.UK

AUGUST 2022

THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE 73

Peter Greatorex dps August.qxp_Layout 1 21/07/2022 11:24 Page 1

Clifton, Bristol - OIEO £3,250,000 A most impressive Victorian freehold property in the heart of Clifton with 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 4 reception rooms and spread over 4 floors. The property is set back from Pembroke Road and offers off-street parking for several vehicles and private gardens to the rear. EPC rating TBC

Peter Greatorex Unique Homes 01225 904999

www.petergreatorex.co.uk Peter Greatorex Managing Director

Sharon Clesham Head of Sales

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FOR SALE

Boreham Mill, Bishopstrow Road Warminster, Wiltshire, BA12 9HQ

FANTASTIC COMMERCIAL INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY WITH FUTURE DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL

Boreham Mill is nestled within the Wiltshire countryside with stunning rural views and a river frontage setting. The property is situated within close proximity to the thriving market town of Warminster, approximately 35 minutes from Bath, 45 minutes from Salisbury and the M4 Motorway, and within 1 hour of Bristol. The property comprises a beautiful former mill dating back to 1866 which is currently fitted out to provide approximately 7,810 sq ft of office accomodation over four floors. The property is set within a site of approximately 0.4 Acres with a large parking area for 22 cars and gardens fronting onto the river Wylye. The property is fully let to Wessex College Ltd under two separate effectively full repairing and insuring leases by way of a service charge. Full details of the lease agreements can be provided upon request. The property has the potential for future redevelopment and could suit residential or hospitality uses, subject to the necessary planning consents. 7-8 acres of adjacent grazing land and fishing rights can be made available by separate negotiation. Price available on application.

For further information or to arrange a viewing, please contact Charlie Kershaw 0117 934 9977 / Charlie@burstoncook.co.uk

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

(0117) 934 9977

25 St John’s Road, Clifton, BS8 2HD FREEHOLD FOR SALE (MAY LET)

TO N E TIO U D CA LO RE

A fine, period property with front and rear gardens comprising approximately 4,500 sq ft GIA. Currently a language school but could suit a range of uses to include offices, day nursery, consulting rooms, medical uses, and various other commercial uses STP. Quayside, BS8 TO LET - POA 2,375 sq ft

EDEN OFFICE PARK, BS20 2,777 SQ FT - TO LET – POA

An open plan, newly refurbished office suite in a waterfront location benefitting stunning views across Bristol Harbourside. On-site shower, secure car parking and bike storage.

A high quality, self-contained office building within an attractive business park. Eden Lodge benefits generous car parking and is strategically located between Clifton and the M5 Motorway.

WESTFIELD PARK, BS21 FOR SALE £160,000+VAT 997 SQ FT

A first-floor office within an established business park on the outskirts of Clevedon, being within approx. 2 miles of J20 of the M5. The suite benefits air conditioning and car parking.

An impressive HQ office building which is due to be refurbished throughout to a contemporary standard. The site benefits secure bike storage, showers, and courtyard garden.

Backwell, North Somerset FOR SALE – POA

Number One Bristol, BS1 TO LET - POA 743 sq ft

Stunning Georgian property set in 15 acres of parkland. Currently a luxury country hotel with the ability to substantially increase the number of bedrooms or could be adapted to create a superb family home.

Julian Cook FRICS

Jayne Rixon MRICS

Charlie Kershaw MRICS

CUMBERLAND ROAD, BS1 TO LET £17.50 PSF PAX 593 – 2,303 SQ FT

Only one suite remaining! Newly refurbished and benefiting a/c, LED lighting and parking, and which forms part of the prestigious Number One Bristol development. Could suit a range of uses (STP).

Rennison’s Yard, BS6 FOR SALE – Separately or combined - POA

Sheene Road, BS3 TO LET – POA 3,758 sq ft

A unique opportunity to purchase within this thriving new development. There are 6 commercial units available totaling approx. 3,000 sq ft, which can be purchased separately or combined.

The accommodation comprises well-presented first floor offices with air conditioning. There is excellent on-site car parking, and the property is situated within 1 mile of Temple Meads Station.

Finola Ingham MRICS

Tom Coyte MRICS

Holly Boulton BSc(Hons)

Vicki Grimshaw BSc(Hons)

• • • • •

Sales / Lettings Acquisitions Valuations Landlord & tenant Auction Sales

• Rent reviews • Property Management • Investment Sales / Purchase • Development & Planning • Dilapidations Advice

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REDLAND

OIEO

£1,300,000 CENTRAL

A detached family house set well back, with driveway and mature front garden and substantial rear gardens, an extensive interior, with additional self-contained annex. Excellent location for Cotham Park and Redland schools, Redland Railway Station through to Bristol Temple Meads. Highly recommend appointment to view.

COTHAM

GUIDE PRICE

£295,000

An exceptional 5th floor apartment with south facing balcony. One double bedroom, bathroom, open plan kitchen/living/dining room. Situated in the heart of the city with its cafes, restaurants, pubs, shops, theaters and the harbour side on your doorstep. Close to Temple Meads and Cabot Circus. Viewing highly recommended.

£599,000 CLIFTON

An exquisite three-bedroom garden flat offers an extensive interior. Spacious kitchen/dining room and sitting room with bay window. Private front garden and allocated off street parking space. Ample storage space, utility, bathroom, and en-suite. Superb central location on the boarder of Clifton, Redland & Cotham. No onward chain. Viewing comes highly recommend.

0117 923 8238

GUIDE PRICE

£1,500,000

Of interest to investors and speculators. A Grade II listed period building comprising of 5 X flats (4 X 1 Bedroom and 1 X 2 Bedroom). All five flats are currently let each with a six-month shorthold tenancy agreement. Details of current rents are available upon request. Prime Clifton location. Extensive Communal Gardens to the front and rear of the terrace. Basement, balcony, and Courtyard Gardens.

www.howard-homes.co.uk

hello@howard-homes.co.uk

Rupert Oliver FP August.qxp_Layout 1 20/07/2022 16:43 Page 1

Clifton, Bristol | Guide Price £1,495,000 A wonderfully versatile 5-bedroom family home in the heart of Clifton with a south-facing balcony and private garden, access to superb communal gardens and the potential for a self-contained flat. A superb semi-detached family home of circa 2600 sq. ft | Private south-facing garden and balcony | Central Clifton village location | Full width family kitchen and dining room | Family sitting room with an open fire | Five double bedrooms and three bath / shower rooms | Potential for a lower ground floor self-contained flat | Lovely retained period features and stripped wooden floors | Access to Royal York Crescent communal gardens opposite | EPC: E

In all circa 2617 sq. ft (243.1 Sq m)

Rupert Oliver FP August.qxp_Layout 1 20/07/2022 16:43 Page 2

Clifton, Bristol | Guide Price £1,695,000 An effortlessly grand and elegant Grade II Listed townhouse with income generating self-contained accommodation, a south facing balcony and a private rear garden. Stunning Grade II Listed family home | Beautifully refurbished by the current owners | Superb retained period features throughout | Fabulous full-depth open plan kitchen, breakfast and dining room | Full-depth first floor drawing and sitting room with south facing balcony and stunning views | “Whole of floor” luxury master bedroom suite | Three further double bedrooms and family bathroom | Lower ground floor self-contained one-bedroom flat | Versatile cellar and further vaulted storage | Deep rear gardens with private lane access | Clifton Village residents parking permit

In all circa 3300 sq. ft (306.5 sq. m)

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The Bristol Magazine August 2022

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