CITYIST

Toby Gutmann produces music and motion graphics in St Werburghs BRISTOL THE CITYist My The Hanham-born writer directs and costars in the series

Filming in Bristol

Multi-award-winning writer and director Stephen Merchant’s series The Offenders (working title) has begun filming in Bristol.

It's a co-production between BBC One and Amazon Studios, commissioned by BBC Comedy and BBC One, and produced by Big Talk with Merchant’s company Four Eyes.

It follows seven strangers from different walks of life, forced together to complete a community payback sentence in Bristol. At first, they seem like archetypes we can easily pigeonhole, but gradually we see behind their façades and understand their hidden depths and what made them the people they are today. We are reminded that no one is all good or all bad and that everyone has a story. As unlikely new friendships intersect with complicated private lives, the offenders must unite to protect one of their own from Bristol’s most dangerous criminal gang. The show is equal parts crime thriller, character study, and state-of-the-nation commentary with humour and heart. “The Offenders is a long-standing passion project for me,” says Hanham-born Merchant, who also directs and co-stars in the series. “My parents used to work in the community service world and I was always intrigued that the many and varied people they dealt with only had one thing in common: they’d committed a crime. “Ever since The Office, I’ve loved finding ways to bring unlikely groups of people together and watch the sparks fly. As a writer I always include humour, but with The Offenders I also get to add drama, pathos, crime genre thrills and say something optimistic about the common humanity that unites us all, whatever our background.”

After living in London for 10 years I wanted a change of scenery and had always wanted to move back to the West Country as I grew up in Warminster. I still wanted to live in a city but with a more easy-going vibe so Bristol was the perfect fit. I’ve only lived here for a year but can see myself staying until I move away from city life in the future. I’ve spent most of my time exploring St Werburghs – my top spots are Café Napolita, The Duke of York and The Farm for a few drinks and a game of pool or seeing some animals! The Star and Garter is great, particularly in the summer, for some music and a good atmosphere. Myself and my partner run a creative business called Maby Media where I work with different clients predominantly in the music industry. I specialise in motion graphics, animation and video postproduction, so my day consists of too much coffee followed by creating content, lyric videos, showreels, etc, for musicians and record labels, as well as producing music and working on my own stuff. My first release was a five-track EP that took inspiration from all kinds of genres and reached the top 10 of the reggae charts on iTunes in 2014. Since, I’ve worked with a number of different artists and collaborated with Marina P and Emilie Chick. My favourite collaboration was with Abdominal. I used to play his release with DJ Format, Music for the Mature B-Boy, all the time, so when they did a release 14 years later I was over the moon to have the opportunity to create something of my own. I enjoy creating visuals to accompany my tracks and this is what I’ve been focusing on over the last couple of years. I release a lot of videos on social media – a combination of samples and well-known songs that I perform in my studio. I begin with a song I love, a popular chart entry or just a catchy melody then start digging for songs and samples to fit the key and tempo. From there it’s just about having fun creating a mix and making something new. drumming techniques that can be applied to finger drumming. The Trinity Centre is one of my favourites as they have a lot of dub and sound system nights. For jazz The Old Duke is great, as is The Canteen for something a bit different. Recently I’ve also been exploring the drum ’n’ bass scene after creating a video for Bristol-based Keeno. I really like grafitti and one of my favourite artists is 3Dom, who came and graffitied my back garden when I first moved to the city. Given the current situation, I can’t wait for the summer when hopefully things will be back to normal. St Pauls Carnival is top of my list with it being on my doorstep. I’m also looking forward to Highrise and Teachings in Dub festival and Tokyo World. If I was stuck on a desert island and had to choose one band to listen to, it would always be Fat Freddy’s Drop. I mainly listen to reggae, jazz, funk and hip hop; regular artists coming out of the speakers are A Tribe Called Quest, Bonobo, Sharron Jones, Buddy Rich and Us3. If I was in charge I would give communities more freedom over putting on events in their local area. It’s important for everyone to have an input; this would help bring people together and make the most of the amazing green spaces Bristol has to offer. n • Follow Toby @toejamtunes; mabymedia.co.uk It’s important for everyone to have an input into the programming of local events and activtiies, says Toby

Britain’s poshest house share?

With 12 bedrooms and 19 residents, Kings Weston House, designed by the brains behind Blenheim Palace, built as the luxury abode of a British politician and now repurposed into a communal living space, could be the country’s poshest house share.

Residents say owner Norman Routledge had always talked about buying a castle that all his friends could live in and when the 18th-century Bristol mansion was put up for sale he snapped it up for £350,000. “It was a fight; two or three times I gave up,” he told BBC Inside Out West recently. “No banks would lend me any money but the guys here said go on, you’ve got this far, keep going.” Norman has always owned and lived in house shares but needed something to suit him and his friends as they began to have fewer parties and more children.

“It’s the ultimate never-grow-old house,” he said. “So many people living on their own are lonely; here, that’s not going to happen. We never thought about the size of the project; it could have been cold and scary but it’s not turned out that way.”

The Grade I listed building has huge grounds, and regal oil paintings the size of snooker tables, depicting former owners. Rent starts at £500 and Norman makes extra cash by renting the bottom floor out for weddings, parties and film crews, for shows including Poldark. He has now set his sights on Ashton Court, one of the UK’s biggest stately homes. “It’s 80% derelict,” he said. “It needs some TLC as this place did but could be our final resting place. We need to persuade Bristol City Council but that’s our next target.” Image courtesy of BBC Inside Out West

Vouching for Bristol’s brilliant businesses Wriggle has launched a system to increase support for independent businesses during uncertain times, allowing consumers to pledge extra support to their local favourites by purchasing vouchers (£5 to £40 in value) which can be redeemed when the coronavirus crisis passes and will help tide businesses through the next challenging months. As the pandemic grows, this is a challenging time for small businesses across the UK, and especially in the hospitality sector. While leisure activities and eating out remain at the discretion of the individual, restaurants are seeing less custom, and may be forced to either close temporarily or reduce hours. As cashflow-dependent businesses with high fixed costs, many much-loved establishments will not make it. “We hope this Indie Kitty campaign can pull people together to support great small businesses and ensure they survive,” said Wriggle CEO Rob Hall. For more information, get touch via email: partnerships@getawriggleon.com .

Art with heart Bristol artist Luke Jerram has created a glass sculpture in tribute to the huge global scientific and medical effort to combat the coronavirus pandemic. At 23cm in diameter, it is two million times larger than the actual virus, was made through a process of scientific glassblowing, and is based on the latest scientific understanding of the virus. “This is a tribute to the scientists and medical teams working collaboratively to try to slow the spread,” said Luke. “It’s encouraging that governments are taking advice and guidance from scientists and are working together for the common good.”

The model was commissioned by the Duke University School of Engineering in America to reflect their current and future research and learning in health, the environment and intelligent systems, and its focus on solving global challenges. Profits from the model are going to Médecins Sans Frontières, assisting developing countries deal with the fallout of the coronavirus epidemic.

WELL VERSED

This month: a poem courtesy of John Harding

Where Rivers Meet

The Founding Fathers settled here Down where these rivers meet There were waters in abundance Green pastures at their feet Where the river floods a city grows Its banks they fill with trade Cargoes ride on every tide Fortunes lost and made Merchants paid upon the Nails Wesley came to preach Where masts stood like forests Along Saint Augustine’s Reach

Like rivers meet we’re incomplete Unless we flow together Out into life’s seas Our destinies bind us all together

Roman legions disappeared Norman castles gone Faces and colours change The river still flows on Where Cabot’s Matthew sailed away To find its new-found land Brunel built his Leviathan With the magic in his hands Home fires blazed with fury As bombs fell on our shores The flower of youth blown away As the world plunged into wars

Like rivers meet we’re incomplete Unless we flow together Out into life’s seas Our destinies bind us all together

So we pray for brighter futures For our daughters and our sons As they turn toward tomorrow’s New millenniums Perhaps the universe will open Its secrets all be known Shall we sail among the stars And find we are not alone There in some distant haven With waters pure and sweet We'll see Founding Fathers settle Down where rivers meet

• If you have some poetry or creative writing that you’d like to submit for potential publication, email editor@thebristolmagazine.co.uk

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