WHAT’S ON

WHAT’S ON IN DECEMBER

Santas on the Run at Ashton Court We Are Scientists at Trinity Centre

BRISTOL BRIDGE CLUB: SUPERVISED SESSIONS

n Every Saturday, 10am – 12pm, via Zoom Bristol Bridge Club has been running free online supervised sessions with some teaching throughout the pandemic on Zoom and will continue to do so, every Saturday morning from 10am to 12 noon. To take part, go to Bristol Bridge Club’s website, click ‘Learn and Play’ and follow the links. bristolbridgeclub.co.uk

BRISTOL BRIDGE CLUB: BEGINNERS’ LESSONS

n Throughout December, Oldfield Road Bristol Bridge is back welcoming members and guests in their premises on Oldfield Road. The club is running beginner lessons on Tuesday mornings and Wednesday evenings. Join Bristol Bridge Club for a taster session before signing up to 10 lessons, which costs £100 including the documents to cover the lessons. Contact teaching@bristolbridgeclub.co.uk

CENTENARY EXHIBITION

n Throughout December, All

Saints Church

This month, the National Exhibition of Contemporary Stained Glass is coming to All Saints Church Clifton, celebrating one hundred years of the British Society of Master Glass Painters. A national tour, visiting a number of selected venues, the exhibition showcases a striking display of stained glass by some sixty artists from the UK and around the world. It explores a variety of subjects and themes that have affected, influenced, and inspired a range of contemporary glass artists, from the environment to the Covid-19 pandemic and the beauty of nature. allsaintsclifton.org

A BETTER WORLD IS EDIBLE

n Throughout December, We

The Curious

How does the food we eat affect the planet, and what can we do about it? Join We The Curious in the kitchen to cook up some scrumptious sustainable snacks, chat about the food we eat and changes we can make. Go along to The Big Green Grill-off and become a sustainable chef as you invent and cook your own meat-free burgers, and investigate the properties and carbon footprint of different ingredients by making a mug cake, in The Missing Ingredient. wethecurious.org

Photograph by Sophie Green

CREATIVE WELLBEING WORKSHOPS

n 2, 9 & 16 December, Arnolfini CreativeShift CIC bring their creative wellbeing practices to Arnolfini, inviting anyone to take some time out for themselves to be creative in a relaxed and friendly environment. No previous experience needed. arnolfini.org.uk Bristol Palestine Film Festival will take place from 4–12 December. The festival will be screening a mix of shorts, feature films and documentaries in independent venues such as Watershed, The Cube, and The Bristol Palestine Museum. As well as the film screenings, the festival will feature a play for the first time: The Shroud Maker, written and directed by Ahmed Masoud, the festival’s BPFF 2019 writer in residence. bristolpff.org.uk

SANTAS ON THE RUN

n 5 December, Ashton Court Children’s Hospice South West’s spectacular Santas on the Run Goes Freestyle will be returning to Bristol on 5 December and organisers are hoping an army of fun runners and walkers will join them to raise cheer in their festive gear at Ashton Court. Nearly 1,300 people took part in the last festive 2k fun run around Bristol Harbourside in 2019, raising around £35,000 in support of the charity’s Charlton Farm children’s hospice in Wraxall. Sign up at: chsw.org.uk/santas

WE ARE SCIENTISTS

n 7 December, Trinity Centre We Are Scientists make their long-awaited return to the UK, following their biggest headline show in a decade. The iconic NYC rock band are flying high in the wake of their “50th anniversary” celebrations for debut album, With Love and Squalor, and have recently released their first new album, Huffy. Ú

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Winter Lecture: The ORIGINS Festival and Indigenous interventions in museums with Bristol Museum

Formed by guitarist and vocalist, Keith Murray; bass guitarist, Chris Cain, and drummer Keith Carne, We Are Scientists are coming to Trinity Centre on 7 December. trinitybristol.org.uk

LECTURE: THE ORIGINS FESTIVAL

n 9 December, Priory Road Lecture Theatre Join Bristol Museum for December’s Winter Lecture to hear Michael Walling discuss the ORIGINS Festival and Indigenous interventions in museum spaces. Border Crossings’ ORIGINS Festival, which offers a space in Britain for Indigenous people to articulate their cultures, has been working closely with Indigenous artists and major museums to move these important conversations forward. bristolmuseums.org.uk

ART IN THE TIME OF COVID-19: ARTISTS IN PRACTICE

n 9 December, Bristol Ideas, online This year’s Autumn Art Lectures – brought to you by the University of Bristol Faculty of Arts in partnership with Bristol Ideas – are themed around ‘Art in the Time of COVID-19’. This series of lectures brings together contemporary artists, scholars and museum professionals to reflect on the impact of pandemics – both in the past and in the present – on the ways in which we create, engage with, and think about art and art-making. bristolideas.co.uk n 12 December, Penny Brohn UK Celebrate together with wonderful musicmaking and readings that invoke the spirit and meaning of Christmas. As the Winter Solstice approaches, this programme of evocative readings and wonderful music for female choir and harp-based ensemble encourages emotional, physical and spiritual renewal, all set in the beautiful environment of the Alan Long Garden Room at Penny Brohn UK’s National Centre. pennybrohn.org.uk

HARBOURSIDE UNPLUGGED WITH CONCORD DRIVE

n 12 December, The Louisiana Go and soak up some of Bristol's up-andcoming live music with The Louisianna’s stripped back acoustic night. Expect live music from: Concord Drive, Dakota Simpson, Ben Nicholls and Libby Rollings. thelouisiana.net

DIABEL CISSOHKO BAND

n 17 December, online Coming from a great line of Cissokho griots, Senegalese singer, songwriter and kora player Diabel Cissokho has spent his career exploring the blues roots of his griot traditions. With an exceptional musical pedigree and a virtuosic talent, he has toured internationally as Baaba Maal’s longtime kora player, and performed alongside world class musicians Youssou N’Dour, Pee Wee Ellis, Paul McCartney and many more. Now Cissokho’s mission is to bring his unique Afro Mandingue Blues style and transcendent Mandinkan melodies to the world, and be an ambassador for a new generation of Senegalese music. bristolbeacon.org

HANDEL’S MESSIAH

n 22 December, St George’s Bristol Bristol Ensemble and the Choir of Royal Holloway return to St George's Bristol to bring to life Handel's masterpiece, Messiah, in a semistaged performance. stgeorgesbristol.co.uk

LOOKING AHEAD

SLAPSTICK FESTIVAL

n 26–30 January, at various venues The UK’s biggest celebration of silent, visual and classic screen comedy returns to Bristol from 26–30 January with a celebrity-led programme of live events, taking place at Bristol Cathedral, the Redgrave Theatre, St George’s Bristol and Watershed. With the likes of Arthur Smith, Armando Iannucci, Steven Mangan, Jon Culshaw and Richard Herring preparing to grace the stages, this festival is not one to miss. For further details of the full line-up, ticket prices and booking links, visit slapstick.org.uk