South Bristol Voice November 2018 by South Bristol Voice

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November 2018 November 2018

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No. 42

www.southbristolvoice.co.uk

We Sell and Let Property Like Yours

The best news in South Bristol by quite a long way

FREE EVERY MONTH in Totterdown, Knowle and Windmill Hill NOT one but two of Bristol’s mayors declared their determination to get on top of Bristol’s creaking, log-jammed public transport system as bus passengers complained that the service was at breaking point. Readers told the Voice and the rest of the city’s media that buses were not turning up, were full, or arrived far too late bunched up in twos and threes. Most South Bristol routes were affected – passengers complained of waiting an hour for a 1, 50 minutes for a 90, as well as no-shows for the 2, the 2A and 376, among others. “Why does the 90 keep not turning up?” asked one despairing traveller. “Waited over an hour for a 1 … meant to be every 10 minutes”, said another. Parents complained that their children were left at bus stops, while some commuters decided to walk, cycle or drive to work. The problems reached a peak in early October, when the arrival of the student population – apparently much larger than expected – helped overwhelm the city’s buses – the vast majority of which are run by First Bus. City mayor Marvin Rees promised that he was on the brink of announcing a deal with First that would “bring a huge change to bus services in Bristol”. Mr Rees said he wants to double the number of bus journeys, and see more public

MAYORS VOW TO ACT ON BUS CRISIS But how quickly can anything be done? Flat fares, more buses and a new ‘bus strategy’ – but no dates for when any of it will happen and private money ploughed into the bus network. He wants a single flat fare for all bus journeys within Bristol, better enforcement of bus lanes and more priority bus routes. But in Bristol’s tightly-packed road network this is a tall order, and can’t be achieved quickly. Meanwhile metro mayor Tim Bowles who, as head of the West of England combined authority (Weca), has responsibility for regional transport, said he was in urgent talks with First Bus about the recent disruption. “I will press First to address

these challenges as quickly as possible,” said Mr Bowles. “The recent level of disruption is unacceptable and I will raise my concerns directly with First.” Mr Bowles’ concerns are thought to centre on First’s failure to recruit enough drivers. He is expected to ask James Freeman, managing director of First Bus in Bristol, why the firm could not predict the need for drivers and recruit accordingly, instead of being forced to draft them in from as far afield as Cornwall. The crisis for Bristol’s buses has a number of causes – too few drivers, traffic jams due to factors such as the year-long delay in roadworks at Temple Circus, and the temporary closure of Parkway station. Wessex Bus also stopped its services in Bristol in August, leaving First to pick up its routes. Mr Freeman told BBC Points Continued on page 3

INSIDE • BROADWALK CENTRE: PUBLIC HAVE A SAY 4-5 • TOTTERDOWN HORROR AT TOWER ‘CARBUNCLE’ 6 • WHEN CARY GRANT WAS UPSTAGED IN S. BRISTOL 7 • WHERE TO SEE THE FIREWORKS • NATURE: WHY WE SHOULD WELCOME SPIDERS

14-15

• HISTORY: THE WWI BROTHERS WHO WOULDN’T KILL 29-32 • SOCIAL CARE IS IN CRISIS, SAYS MP 38 • Letters 16-17 Planning 33

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2 Paul Breeden Editor & publisher 07811 766072 paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk Ruth Drury Sales executive 07590 527664 sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk Editorial team: Beccy Golding, Alex Morss, Martin Powell & The Wicked Witch. Deliveries: Greg Champion

Intro

AN UNENVIABLE TASK DOES it make it more or less likely that Bristol will solve its transport crisis that we have two mayors on the job? You can’t envy either city mayor Marvin Rees or metro mayor Tim Bowles the task of sorting out decades of indecision in our urban transport systems. Though Mr Rees gets all the headlines, in fact it’s Mr Bowles’s West of England authority (Weca) which does a lot of the planning of the regional bus and train services. One big question Mr Bowles has to answer is whether he will pick up his powers to franchise the buses – meaning he could

Independent Community News Network member Twitter: @sbristolvoice Facebook: southbristolvoice Next deadline for editorial and advertising: November 14th direct companies such as First which services to run, how often and for certain fares. This is the kind of system which is used in London, where most public transport is under the control of Transport for London. Many campaigners would like Weca to start a franchise. But Mr Bowles will consult the public on his bus strategy in the New Year before taking any decisions. Many will be amazed that planning for a Bristol underground continues: we are promised an update in December. But like the other measures outlined in our Page 1 story, any action is a long way off. Bristol city council’s transport strategy is open for consultation until November 2: bristol.gov.uk/transportstrategy

November 2018

HOW DO I GET IN TOUCH WITH ... My MP? Karin Smyth MP By email: karin.smyth.mp@ parliament.uk By post: Karin Smyth MP, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA By phone: 0117 953 3575 In person: Call 0117 953 3575 for an appointment. My councillor? Post: You can write to all councillors at City Hall, College Green, Bristol BS1 5TR. Christopher Davies Lib Dem, Knowle

Email: Cllr.Christopher.Davies@ bristol.gov.uk Gary Hopkins Lib Dem, Knowle (Lib Dem deputy leader) Email: Cllr.Gary.Hopkins@bristol.gov.uk Phone: 07977 512159 Lucy Whittle Labour, Windmill Hill Phone: 07392 108805 Email: Cllr.Lucy.Whittle@bristol.gov.uk Jon Wellington Labour, Windmill Hill Phone: 07392 108804 Email: Cllr.Jon.Wellington@bristol.gov.uk

USEFUL NUMBERS Bristol City Council www.bristol.gov.uk 0117 922 2000 Waste, roads 0117 922 2100 Pests, dog wardens 0117 922 2500 Council tax 0117 922 2900 Housing benefit 0117 922 2300

Social services 0117 922 2900 Police Inquiries 101 Emergency 999 NEIGHBOURHOOD MEETINGS Windmill Hill Network November 14, Victoria Park Baptist Church, Sylvia Avenue, 7.30pm

COMPLAINTS Despite our best efforts, we sometimes get things wrong. We always try to resolve issues informally at first but we also have a formal complaints procedure. If you have a complaint about anything in the South Bristol Voice, contact the Editor using the details below. We aspire to follow the the Code of Conduct of the NUJ (National Union of Journalists), nuj.org.uk/about/nuj-code. Further details of the complaints process can be found on our website (below) or can be obtained by contacting the Editor by email: paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk or by post: 18 Lilymead Avenue, Bristol BS4 2BX or by phone: 07811 766072. southbristolvoice.co.uk/complaints-procedure All stories and pictures are ©South Bristol Voice (unless otherwise stated) and may not be reproduced without permission in this or any other plane of the multiverse. South Bristol Voice Ltd | Co. no. 09522608 | VAT no. 211 0801 76

MUSIC & SPOKEN WORD NIGHT to raise funds for the Community of Perrett’s Park (COPP) featuring:

ALLAN SCHILLER World famous classical pianist

RAZZOMO

Full power Gypsy Balkan guitar & violin duo

THE BARD OF WINDMILL HILL Award winning poet, storyteller and satirist

MATTI REYNOLDS Multi gold medal winning athlete & soul sensation

RUSTOM BATTIWALLA

Guildhall School of Music graduate pianist

THURSDAY 22ND NOVEMBER 7-9PM Totterdown Baptist Church Tickets £5 Buy on the door or online at: copptbcconcert.eventbrite.co.uk

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November 2018

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n NEWS Cultural evening in aid of park

Carols and comedy for festive fun

AN EVENING of music and spoken word is at Totterdown Baptist church on November 22 to raise money for the Community of Perretts Park, where supporters hope to help fund a new piece of play equipment. International concert pianist Allan Schiller is top of the bill. Allan, who last year wrote an autobiography, became famous in the 1960s as the first British student to study in Moscow.

IF YOU like singing Christmas carols, and you like stand-up comedy too, an event at Redcatch community centre should be right up your street. Carols and Comedy is organised by the Voice’s own Ruth Drury and promises a rousing opportunity to air your favourite carols with the aid of live musicians. It’s in aid of the roof fund at Victoria Park Baptist church. There will be festive

n BRIEFLY n THE TOTTERDOWN panto is back! An all-new show, Marvellous Mythchief is staged at Totterdown Baptist church in Wells Road on December 14 at 7pm and December 15 at 3pm. This time, the adults keep arguing and it’s down to the children to get the Totterdown Treasure back from Evil Rex the Roofer. Find out more by contacting Elaine via tbc.org.uk n REMEMBRANCE Sunday is celebrated at Totterdown Methodist church on November 11 at 10.30am, with two minutes silence at 11 am. All are welcome. n THERE is no Remembrance service at Arnos Vale cemetery this year as all eyes will be on the major service at the Cenotaph in the city centre on November 11. Instead, at 2pm on December 8, Arnos Vale will host the Lord Mayor and high commissioners from various Commonwealth countries for a Rededication Service. The war memorial and graves at the cemetery have been cleaned, repaired and returfed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to mark the centenary of the Armistice. n CHILDREN of five years and over can enjoy Fireside Tales With Grandad. when the Pickled Image theatre company bring their captivating puppet show to Redcatch community centre, Knowle, on Saturday November 17. Tickets are just £2, on sale at Broadwalk News, and subsidised with help from Redcatch Community Association. 2pm, refreshments available. elknowle.wixsite.com/elknowle

Mattie Reynolds, 16, is a contrasting talent – a soulful singer familiar to devotees of the Totterdown Music Festival. Exciting Balkan gypsy music is promised by the duo Razzomo, and there is more classical piano from Rustom Battiwalla. Completing the bill is poet Trevor Carter – better known as the Bard of Windmill Hill. Tickets are £5 online at copptbcconcert.eventbrite.co.uk

Chance for public to have a say on buses Continued from Page 1 West that the firm is recruiting 15 drivers a week, and drafting in more vehicles and drivers wherever it can. An announcement about the flat fare could be made within weeks, he said. But investing in more buses and better routes will take much longer. An update will be given on a rapid transit system in December, Mr Rees said in his State of the City address on October 17. Transport officials at Weca are leading work on a possible underground system which could include a tunnel under South Bristol to lead to the airport. “We’re not talking about the London tube with 200m-long trains,” Mr Rees said in his speech. “We may not even need rails or track – some automated systems around the world just run by following a simple white line painted on the floor.” Also

IT WAS A PAYOFF

HE CITY council did not have to pay departed chief executive Ann Klonowski half of her £196,000 severance when she left abruptly after seven months in 2017, auditors BDO have ruled. Mayor Marvin Rees had refused to discuss the payoff, saying it was to meet the council’s contractual obligations. But BDO said half the sum – £98,000 – was discretionary, and has reclassified it in the council’s accounts. Knowle Lib Dem councillor Gary Hopkins said the payoff was to “cover up for the lies”

THE ARENA MARVIN Rees declared in his State of the City address that not only would the Temple Meads arena have been “too small to be world class” it would have been a “security liability” to put it close to the railway station. He did not explain his security concerns. Stephen Fear, the Bristol businessman who was trying to find an alternative arena site, was not available for comment. under discussion are “tramtrains” – lightweight trains, as seen in Sheffield. Mr Bowles and Weca are to consult the public on a bus strategy for the region in the new year. Weca has the power to franchise bus services, meaning it could take control of routes, fares and frequencies in a way Bristol city council cannot. • The Mayor: Page 21 that were told about Ms Klonowski’s departure. Green councillor Paula O’Rourke called Ms Klonowski “an employee that was no longer effective and to a certain extent had become very toxic.” The audit committee has asked for an internal investigation. • Your councillors: Page 24

A WORLD OF MAYORS BRISTOL played host to the World Parliament of Mayors in October – a gathering of mayors from across the planet to talk about migration, urban security, public health and climate change. Full report on the Voice website.

treats to eat plus a full bill of live professional comedy. Compere James Crawley will introduce Alf, Richard James, Matt Bragg (who has supported Harry Hill), Dan Mayo and Richard Lindesay. Several of the line-up were a hit at the Redcatch venue earlier in the year at the sellout Comedy, Curry and Music Shebang. Tickets are £7 – call Ruth on 07590 527664 or email sales@ southbristolvoice.co.uk.

Who deserves a hamper? DO YOU know someone who’s not had a great year? The Voice has got together with a number of our generous South Bristol businesses to put together a Christmas hamper full of treats. We’ll give it to the person readers nominate who sounds most in need of some festive cheer – details next month. ADVERTISEMENT

Gift idea: Our range of locally made products

Drop in for a winter warmer NOVEMBER brings the chills and we’ve got just the winter warmer! Pop in during the Totterdown Front Room art trail and grab a hot mulled cider, a bite to eat or some freshly cooked Sausagenius bangers for sustenance. We’ll have fantastic independent artists and makers displaying unique wares, alongside our usual locallymade products. Open for fruit and veg, coffee and cake as normal. Why not get a head start on your Christmas shopping?

Lucy and Hannah

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Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk

November 2018

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n NEWS Consultation is open for plan to rebuild centre PLANS for a new Broadwalk shopping centre, which are set to bring the most significant changes to Knowle for almost 50 years, have been submitted to the council. All eyes are on the public reaction to the proposals – and so far it seems to be hard to discern whether the majority opinion is for or against. Of the handful of responses made as the Voice went to press, most were negative – seven objections, with three statements in support, and one neutral opinion. But the plans seem likely to attract scores, if not hundreds of comments. The deadline for comments is officially October 31 – but in practice the council will accept statements for much longer, as it will be many weeks before council officials have prepared their response. When the public were invited to view an earlier version of the plans in July, comments were

BROADWALK PLANS

more favourable – around 90 per cent of the 500-odd visitors expressed broad approval. Retailers in the centre are also largely in favour – even though a large part of it will shut and disruption is inevitable during the four-year rebuilding project. Chief among the objections so far given to the council is

THE PLANS • Demolish the multi-storey car park, old library, garage and structures west of Ryde Road; • Build underground car park with 420 spaces plus 600 cycle spaces; • Access to parking from Redcatch Road, exit to Broad Walk – as now; • Up to 420 flats in blocks of up to 12 storeys; • A plaza with bars and restaurants

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parking. The plans show underground parking for 420 cars – slightly more than at present. But 260 or so will be needed for shoppers, leaving less than one space for every two of the new flats. The council encourages low provision of parking, as it encourages people not to own faces Redcatch park; • Roof gardens, balconies, private terraces and “green walls” included; • Blocks of 12, 10, 9 and 8 storeys face Redcatch park. • Block of 5 storeys faces Broad Walk; 4 storeys faces Redcatch Road; • Shopping centre entrance and shops facing Wells Road retained; • Wilko, the snooker hall, gym and bingo hall all demolished but talks

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against a harsh winter. “I have converted a van into a campervan here in Bristol but this is a next level challenge – and one which I cannot get wrong if this is going to be my home in British Columbia’s -30 C winter,” said Louisa. You can follow Louisa’s journey on Instagram at @bustothewild • More on the Voice website

n NEWS

Broadwalk centre: The public’s time to have their say

THE REACTIONS “There is already a lack of medical care, school space, education etc for residents. They have not considered existing residents or calculated how to meet the needs of new residents.” Wells Road

Broad Walk: How blocks will look

View from the south side of Redcatch park, showing opening to piazza

cars, and the centre is close to many bus routes. But residents are worried that nearby roads will be overwhelmed. One comment from a Broad Walk resident is typical: “Parking is already atrocious. Adding more

housing with not enough parking will just escalate the current issue of dangerous roads.” Developer Pelican, acting on behalf of the centre’s owner, administrators Moorfields, has stressed that parking will be provided throughout the rebuilding. When the multistorey is demolished, new access will be provided to the remaining parking spaces. Knowle’s two councillors, Lib Dem members Gary Hopkins and Chris Davies, are surveying around 350 households close to the centre – as far away as Maxse Road – to see if they want a resident parking scheme. The aim would be to protect them from the commuters who currently use the multi-storey before going to work in the city centre. Response has been good – about 40 per cent have replied, said Cllr Hopkins. “There’s been a variety of views expressed,” he said. “We are also getting people from other roads who say they want to be included.” More views are being gathered before the councillors reveal the results. If neighbours are in favour of a parking scheme, Moorfields is likely to pay the set-up costs. Bristol Civic Society has

under way about moving them; • New centre will have more shops, but in less space, so smaller; • Hope for a food store – on the scale of M&S Food; • Affordable housing total not yet given. • The current application is for outline permission, to approve the road access only. Everything else will be assessed later.

Louisa risks it all on a Bus to the Wild A WINDMILL Hill filmmaker is about to build her own home – a conversion of an American school bus in which she will live and work in the wilds of Canada. Louisa Gilbert, 30, worked with Sir David Attenborough and the BBC Natural History Unit as well as Sky, Discovery Channel and Channel 4 in her career as a TV wildlife photographer. Now

November 2018

Louisa with David Attenborough

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backed the plan, welcoming the new piazza opening onto Redcatch park. But it expressed concern about the high density. Cllr Hopkins is also broadly in favour, though he acknowledges that some residents of Ryde Road, behind the current car park, are not happy. The developers have held three meetings with neighbours in Ryde Road, and have adapted the plans to minimise overlooking and overshadowing. But with a four-year demolition and building programme ahead, disturbance for residents is inevitable. Residents in Broad Walk seem to be happier with the scheme – bedroom windows of the new flats on this side will be angled away from existing houses. Voice readers have asked if the plans can be displayed in the centre and in Knowle library. That doesn’t appear likely, but posters outlining the scheme are to be put up in both locations. The application reveals that the multi-storey car park, built in the early 1970s, is cracking up and cannot be repaired. It will need action within three years. The plans can be seen online, and comments made, at tinyurl.com/broadwalkplan

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SOUTH BRISTOL SPORT CENTRE

“I am very positive about investment in the shopping centre and housing for Knowle. I really like the piazza design and openings to Redcatch Park. My concerns are about density; height – even 10 storeys would be better; school places, GP provision and local services to accommodate 600+ people; would prefer 30 per cent affordable housing in line with council policy.” Knowle “The number of residential units must be reduced as well as the height. There are no other buildings of this height in the vicinity. Nowhere near enough parking.” Jubilee Road “It is currently nearly impossible to park near my house and rarely am I able to park on the same street – which as a heavily pregnant mother

BROADWALK PLANS with two children is stressful. Developers need to stop assuming that people will take public transport as it’s patently not the case.” Marston Road “It’s too high and not in keeping with the area. Parking will be an issue. Redcatch park will suffer with anti-social behaviour.” Woodbridge Road “Shopping centre needs redeveloping and housing is needed. New bars, cafés and shops are welcomed. Although parking is potentially a problem, car ownership is dwindling and the flats are on good public transport routes.” Norton Road “I live up the road and think this is desperately needed. I like the look of the plans and think it will be good for the area, especially if a supermarket is included.” Knowle “While we appreciate housing is required and that Broadwalk is an eyesore, we have concerns: loss of privacy and overlooking; impact on local amenities; inadequate parking provision.” Ryde Road

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n NEWS Knowle is the preferred site for new school CONFIRMATION has emerged that Bristol city council is looking at a site in Knowle for a new secondary school. Last month, the Voice quoted Cllr Gary Hopkins, Lib Dem member for Knowle, telling a public meeting that the Oasis academy chain is in talks to build a school on the site of The Park centre in Daventry Road. It is assumed that any deal would find a home for The Park centre’s many community users in new buildings on the site, which used to be Merrywood boys school. The Voice said Cllr Hopkins had “let the cat out of the bag”, as neither the council nor The Park would comment. However, Cllr Anna Keen, the cabinet member for education, confirmed at a full council members’ forum on September 11 that Knowle is the preferred area for a new school. “We are in commercial negotiations, but we are close to getting there and that’s certainly our priority to have a school in that area,” she said to Cllr Tim Kent (Lib Dem, Whitchurch), who had asked if the new school would be in Knowle. The Voice understands that Oasis is proposing a 900-place school without a sixth form – that would be provided at another Oasis school planned at Silverthorne Lane, St Philip’s. It is expected that the new school’s sports facilities would be open to the community out of school hours.

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n NEWS

Hadley tower plan draws protests from Totterdown A PROPOSAL for a 17-storey tower on Bath Road has attracted almost 50 objections, many of them claiming the building is far too tall and would ruin Totterdown’s iconic views. London-based developer Hadley wants to build 160 flats on the site of the former petrol station next to Totterdown bridge. Hadley proposes three buildings – a high-rise of 15 storeys with a further two floors below the level of Bath Road, plus blocks of seven and three storeys. The lower floors would have offices and commercial uses. There would be just 41 parking spaces, with 296 cycle spaces. Many residents fear that Totterdown’s narrow streets could be overwhelmed with overflow parking from the blocks. And there is more to come – the council-owned riverside site the other side of Totterdown bridge is expected to be slated for homes in up to 18 storeys. The Hadley high-rise is about as tall as the hill behind it. “A 15 storey building is too high and will ruin the skyline views up to Totterdown,” said a resident of Upper Street. A resident of Paintworks, close by on Bath Road, said the tower “will be a monstrosity and an eyesore … nothing less than a carbuncle on the landscape. And

High rise block is ‘nothing less than a carbuncle’ 160 units, adding to this heavily congested A4 thoroughfare, will just heap misery on an already choked infrastructure.” Tresa, the Totterdown residents group, called it an “ugly, couldbe-anywhere design”. The group said it welcomed a redevelopment of the site, and a proposed riverside walk, but said seven storeys would be suitable. The city’s Local Plan says the site is suitable for only 40 homes, Tresa added. And a separate spatial plan for Avon Riverside shows four storeys on the site. “What is the purpose of a

COULD BATS STOP PLAY? THE ENVIRONMENT Agency is objecting to the Hadley plan, saying it fails to assess risks to wildlife, including the rare lesser horseshoe bat, which uses the New Cut as a flight route. The agency also objects that the building should be set back 8m from the river, protests that the plans gives no access for its vehicles, and says a flood risk permit – which is separate from planning permission – is “unlikely”.

When Cary went to see City, he wasn’t the big attraction Hill topped: The tower is as tall as the Totterdown hill behind it well-researched plan if it can be discarded just to increase profit for a developer?” said Tresa. “The tower building is simply too tall. It is imposing and domineering over the site and immediate neighbours.” The tower breaches both the council’s current tall buildings policy and a new, weaker draft policy, the Urban Living SPD (supplementary planning document), Tresa said. “Both SPDs state that tall buildings will be considered for the city centre. This site is not in the city centre, and there are no local precedents for a building like this,” Tresa stated. One in five of the homes – 20 per cent – would be “affordable” housing, 16 per cent for social rent and four per cent shared ownership. The council’s norm is for 30 per cent of homes to be affordable, but Hadley says this is not viable – though it is open to discussion about the final figure. Mo st of the flats – 98 – would be two-bedroom, with 47 one-bed and 15 three-bedroom homes. The tower could have two “green walls” with irrigated planters on each balcony for climbing plants to grow in. There would also be a roof garden. Comments can be made at tinyurl.com/hadleybathrd

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How Cary Grant was upstaged in South Bristol EVERYONE has heard of Cary Grant, one of the greatest actors in the history of cinema, and most Bristolians know that this is his home city. But how many know that he was always loyal to his place of birth, returning here frequently and even visiting South Bristol? The irony is that Cary Grant’s visit south of the river was one of the few times in his glittering career when he didn’t get the overwhelming adulation that he was used to. Exactly when is lost in the tides of history, but some time in the mid 1960s the great actor went to a home game at Bristol City. He wasn’t thought to be a big City fan – he was born in Horfield in 1904, putting him much close to Rovers territory – but on his annual visits to Bristol to see his mother, he was often invited to events as a VIP. One of his contacts was the

CARY GRANT COMES HOME FOR THE WEEKEND

OUTHVILLE resident Dr Charlotte Crofts, a lecturer in film at the University of the West of England at Bower Ashton, believes Bristol doesn’t celebrate enough the genius of Cary Grant. So for the past four years she’s been doing something about it, setting up almost single-handedly a weekend celebration of the actor, running this year from November 23-25. Events include a talk about the Alfred Hitchcock connection, with UWE film lecturer Kathrina Glitre and broadcaster

legendary City chairman Harry Dolman, revered as the man who took the club to the First Division. When the car carrying Grant, Harry Dolman and his wife Marina pulled up at the Ashton Gate grandstand, the film star winced when he saw a horde of fans leave the turnstile queue and head towards them. Being in cars surrounded by fans eager for autographs was a frequent occurrence for one of the most famous faces in the world. But when the City fans approached they didn’t head for Grant’s side of the car, but Dolman’s. It was their heroic chairman they wanted a signature from, not the Bristol boy who’d moved to Hollywood! Not that the film star went unappreciated: a fan recalls on the OneTeamInBristol website that Grant received a cheer from the crowd when he took his seat in the Williams stand. • This is the only connection between Cary Grant and South Bristol that we have been able to uncover – but readers may know of further links. carycomeshome.co.uk Matthew Sweet. This talk at the Watershed is followed by a screening of Suspicion, in which Joan Fontaine plays a wealthy spinster befriended by the charming but dangerous Grant. Grant often visited the Avon Gorge hotel, which is the venue for an afternoon tea and talk called Cary Grant in Bristol, including memories from David Brown, who looked after the actor when he stayed at the hotel. There’s also a Looking for Archie walking tour, which ends at the statue of the actor in Millennium Square which was unveiled in 2001.

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A BOY of 13 from Knowle has been sent to a youth detention centre for 16 months after admitting touching women sexually on five occasions. The boy, who cannot be named because of his age, faced Bristol magistrates on October 9. The Voice reported in May that five women had been attacked in Windmill Hill, mainly near St John’s Lane, between March 24 and April 5. None were injured but several were badly distressed. The boy will remain on the sexual offenders register for five years.

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n NEWS Invitation to Doors open council tenants COUNCIL tenants in Totterdown, Knowle and Windmill Hill are invited to discuss housing services at the new Local Housing Forum. The topic for the first event is anti-social behaviour. Tea and coffee is free, and travel expenses can be paid. It’s at 6.15-8.30pm on December 12, at the Southville Centre, Beauley Road, Southville. Council tenants in Filwood, Knowle West and nearby have an event on December 6, 5.45-8pm, at Filwood community centre, Barnstaple Road, Filwood. For details email tpu@bristol. gov.uk or call 0117 352 1444. bristol.gov.uk/LocalHousingForums

More disruption RAIL services from Temple Meads will be disrupted from October 27 to November 18 while new lines are laid to Parkway. Temple Meads is already the UK’s fourth worst station for punctuality.

to dozens of Front Rooms BRISTOL’s oldest and probably largest art trail takes place in Totterdown from November 23-25 – with a nautical theme. The Front Room trail kicks off on the Friday with music at the Oxford and the Shakespeare and several of the artist venues open for previews. Details weren’t available as the Voice went to press, but expect Totterdown Square to be buzzing with creative events for children and the streets to be alive with nautical characters. Venues such as Hillcrest primary school, Holy Nativity church, Knowle constitutional club and the Thali restaurant will be crammed with artists. In all, around 140 artists will be showing off their creativity. The Totterdown Centre will

New shop at Tott Centre

Exhibiting: Knowle’s Rod Bowman be home to the Road Project, an exhibition on the “missing spaces” of Totterdown, ruined by demolition in the 1960s and 70s. The Healing Courtyard behind the Centre will create the Wave of Life, organised by Vera Harhat and the team at Floriography florists, telling “stories of the heart” showing lost treasures of the sea. Bristol Women’s Workshop will be making pizzas in the courtyard’s clay oven. Many artists will have greeting cards and gifts on sale – the trail is popular with people seeking unusual Christmas presents. Food is available at lots of venues, from Bocabar on Bath Road to pop-up venues such as the Blue Corner House vegan café at 35 Windsor Terrace. frontroom.org.uk

THE SHOP at the front of the old Totterdown centre is set to reopen after a mammoth renovation which has lasted most of the year. A new tenant, Printed Goods, which has made a name for its artistic prints and T-shirts, is expected to open on November 5, with an opening event on November 10. Run by twin brothers Raphael and George Greaves, the shop aims to stock “art for the everyday”. On sale will be the brothers’ own designs and other independent brands they call “beautiful, thoughtfully designed homeware and lifestyle products that serve a purpose”. Renovation of the shop at 144 Wells Road has taken more than seven months. Its owner (who prefers to be anonymous) told the Voice that it involved 4,500 man hours and the removal of 25 sq m of rotten floorboards. Facebook: PrintedGoods

November 2018

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n NEWS Bathwell Road Jet’s big shut for months BATHWELL Road, Totterdown is to be closed to traffic at the junction with Stanley Hill from November 1 for up to 18 months to allow the construction of seven homes (three houses and four flats) on a long-empty corner plot. It means vehicles can no longer use the road as part of a short cut between the Bath and Wells roads. Waiting restrictions will also limit parking near the building site. The traffic order will last only as long as the building work – expected to finish by August.

Surgery setback DEVELOPER James Tait, who is converting the former St Martin’s GP surgery at 378 Wells Road, Knowle, has been told to make a new planning application if he wants to alter the layout of the four flats. Planners have rejected the site’s refuse store, outside lights, solar panels and cycle store.

swim appeal takes off

A YOUNG swimmer who organised her own charity event smashed through her fundraising target in just two days. Jet Ward, 8, from Knowle, decided she would help CHIVA, the Bristol-based charity for children with HIV, after hearing about it from her godfather. Organising everything herself, Jet decided she would swim a mile to raise money on October 6 – even though she hadn’t swum anything like that far before. Her Justgiving page quickly broke her £200 target and she collected more than £1,100. “This is entirely her idea,” said mum Helen. “She had never

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TUTORING

Determined: Jet Ward, 8 swum that far before, and it’s 73 lengths but she was super determined do something epic.” Jet also raised money from a stall at Hillcrest primary school, selling sweets and magic wands she had made from twigs. chiva.org.uk

Where to enjoy the fireworks FIREWORK displays and bonfires in or near South Bristol include: Victoria Park bonfire. Monday November 5. Contribute wood from 3pm. Food and drink from 5pm, bonfire 6pm. No fireworks allowed. Knowle Cricket Club Wells Road, Knowle. Sunday November 4, 4.30pm, fireworks 6.45pm, food and drink. £5, children £3, family £15. No sparklers. Compass Point school South Street, Bedminster. Friday November 9, 6pm. BTRA Sports Ground Stockwood Lane BS14 8SJ. Sunday November 4, 6pm, fireworks 7.30pm, bar and barbecue. £6, child £3, family £15. Fireworks to Music Avon Valley Wildlife Park, Pixash Lane, Keynsham BS31 1TP. 5.30pm, fireworks 7.15pm; sparklers, bonfire, plus funfair, play areas and food stalls. Tickets from £3.50. More displays at visitbristol.co.uk/whats-on/ bonfire-night-displays-bristol

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HELP BRISTOL WASTE NOTHING THIS HOLIDAY! Get tips on how to enjoy a sustainable festive season & find out when your holiday waste and recycling collection days are.

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November 2018

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n NEWS Library talks TV fame about to be for Hill announced artist THE FUTURE of South Bristol’s

smaller libraries is unclear as users await an announcement on consultation over their future. In July, mayor Marvin Rees cancelled £1.4 million in cuts which would have closed 17 out of 27 city libraries. All branches are now safe until 2020. The consultation will ask community groups to give ideas for supporting local libraries and perhaps moving them. Larger libraries such as Knowle and Bedminster will expect to retain staff. But other brances may be at risk without community support. At Marksbury Road library, the Friends group has said the council should continue to staff it, and volunteers are not the answer. Consultation is expected to be announced on November 1 and run until April 2019.

Men held over ramraid case

Ruth’s popular print of Perrett’s Park RUTH Whiter, one of more than 70 artists at October’s Art on the Hill art trail, is to be on US TV. Ruth, of Elvaston Road, was chosen for her live sketching

ability to paint a London scene for Househunters International – a show sadly not shown in the UK. • See the Voice website for more artist at the Windmill Hill event.

FOUR South Bristol men face charges over an alleged nighttime ram-raid at a clothing store. A car was driven into the Go Outdoors store at Tramway Road, Brislington on October 8. Chas Bevan, 20 of Broadbury Road, Knowle, is charged with two counts of burglary. Steven Gaydon, 37, of Bideford Crescent, Knowle, and Lee John Mills, 32, of Queens Road, Bishopsworth, each face one charge of burglary. Joshua Daniel James, 28, of Paxton Drive, Ashton, faces one charge of theft and one of burglary. Magistrates remanded the four in custody on October 9 to Bristol Crown Court on November 9. • Kerr Somers, 29, who murdered Nathan Jones with a martial arts weapon in Knowle West in January, has had his sentence increased from 18 to 21 years. The Court of Appeal found his sentence was “unduly lenient”.

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Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk

November 2018

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n CHURCH NEWS

MAN arrives in a city one snowy morning and sees that no one is wearing shoes. The taxi driver, the hotel staff – all of them have bare feet despite the cold. On the icy street he stops a barefoot man, and points out how shoes protect the feet. The man says, “See that building? That is a shoe factory. We are proud of that and every week we go to learn about shoes and how

Services Bedminster Church of Christ 298 St John’s Lane BS3 5AY Minister: Jason Snethen churchofchristbristol.org

Sunday 10am Bible Hour for all ages; 11am worship; 5pm worship; Tuesday 7.30pm Bible study; Thursday 10am Coffee morning; Friday 3.45-5pm After-school; 7-9.30pm youth group.

Bedminster Quaker Meeting House Wedmore Vale BS3 5HX Clerk: Chrissie Williams 0117 923 0020 bristolquakers.org.uk

Sunday Worship 10.45am; 2nd & 4th Sunday Children’s meeting; 2nd Sunday Shared lunch.

Thought for the month: Simply pray

With Father Steven Hawkins, Holy Nativity Church wonderful they are.” “Then why don’t you wear shoes?” asks the stranger. “Ah, that’s the question,” says the man. The question I ask is, “Do we Church of the Nazarene Broad Walk, Knowle BS4 2RD Pastor: Matthew Norris 07967 199995 bristolnazarene.com

Sunday 10.30am Sunday Service; Wednesday 6pm Kids Klub; Thursday 7pm Youth club.

Holy Nativity Wells Road, Knowle BS4 2AG Fr Steve Hawkins 0117 971 2496 Facebook: Holy Nativity Knowle

Sunday 10am Parish mass; Friday 10am Weekday mass.

Knowle Methodist Church Redcatch Road, Knowle BS4 2EP Rev Andrew Orton

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know about prayer?” Then why don’t we pray? Ah, that’s the question. Part of the problem is that we’ve made prayer too complicated. People often think they have to use a special holy language. But you don’t – we need the kind of words we utter every day. I’m thinking of three: “Thanks.” “Sorry.” “Help.” There’s the ‘Thank yous’ I say to God for the good things in my

life. I say to God that I’m sorry, I failed to be kind, to help someone. And there are the times when I realise that I need God’s strength and I ask him to help me or somebody else. If you think your relationship with God seems more like a casual acquaintance than deep friendship, then what you have is a failure to communicate – so start praying.

Facebook: SBMCT

Sunday all-age service; 6.30pm Evening service in the parlour (entrance Sydenham Road).

Sunday 10.30am Worship and Junior Church (Fun Sunday; Minnows for pre-school children).

St Martin’s Wells Road, Knowle BS4 2NG Rev Becky Waring 0117 977 6275 Facebook: stmartinschurchknowle

Sunday 8.30am Holy Communion; 1st, 3rd and 5th Sundays 10.30am Holy Communion; 2nd Sunday 9.30am Rise and Shine: informal service, breakfast; 6pm Holy Communion; 4th Sunday 10.30am Family Communion.

Totterdown Baptist Church Wells Road BS4 2AD tbc.org.uk

Sunday 10.30am Morning service; 2nd

Totterdown Methodist Church Bushy Park, Totterdown BS4 2AD Rev Andrew Orton Facebook: SBMCT

Sunday Family worship 10.30am; 1st Sunday Sunday School.

Victoria Park Baptist Church Sylvia Avenue BS3 5DA Rev Brendan Bassett 0117 977 2484

Sunday 10.30am Service includes groups for all ages, and adults; coffee 11.30am. 2nd Sunday Parade service; 3rd Sunday Communion

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November 2018

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n NEWS

FUTURE OF ST PHILIP’S

Police object to music venue plan AS THE long-departed residents of St Philip’s Marsh met for a reunion, plans were being made for a new vision for the area. Around 6,000 people were moved out of the Marsh in the 1960s. But the St Silas Royal British Legion in Meriton Street was packed on September 30 for a reunion, with the offer of free open-top bus tours. On show were the residents’ ideas for the island’s future – a watersports centre on the Feeder canal, for example, with a concert hall and shopping centre. But a more likely future is revealed in two recent planning applications on Feeder Road – for a 4,000 capacity open-air music venue and almost 800 homes, mostly for students. The idea of a new music venue has already stirred dissent from

some Totterdown residents. The developer is MJR, owner of the nearby Motion nightclub on Avon Street. MJR has told the Voice it wants to be a good neighbour, though the council has received complaints about noise from St Philips, Brislington, Totterdown and Knowle. So far 13 objections have been lodged to the venue, to be called St Philips House, a former warehouse and car park next to the Wessex car showroom. Community group Tresa is also opposed, saying some people have already moved away from the area because of night-time noise. One Totterdown resident told the council: “For several years we have been kept awake at weekends, sometimes until 5 and 6 am. Even nearly a mile away from the venue, we are subjected

Feeder Road: New music venue ...

and a new block of 890 homes

to inescapable thudding music. The proposal to extend events to outside is extremely concerning.” The police lodged a vehement objection, citing public safety so close to the Feeder canal, as well as the extra police resources needed. A statement said police may oppose an alcohol licence, and are concerned at the impact on emergency vehicles, which use Feeder Road as a “blue light run”. The music venue would hold up to 3,500 people – 500 more than first proposed. It would be open until 3am at weekends, though music would stop at 11pm. It would include an indoor

venue of 1,800 capacity, plus office space for small businesses and an event space which might be used for indoor crazy golf. The housing is proposed for the nearby Manor scrapyard and next-door Autochoice car showroom. The owners of the two businesses want 760 student rooms in up to nine storeys, with 30 two-bedroom affordable flats. No homes would be on the ground floor, as the area is rated at high risk of flooding. The housing blocks appear to have about 46 parking spaces, including disabled parking. • More on the Voice website

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South Bristol Retirement Fair

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Free refreshments provided! Booking is essential: 0117 353 3042 www.linkagenetwork.org.uk/pro Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk

November 2018

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n FEATURES Our amazing spiders are caught in a web of misunderstanding despite all their mindblowing ecology. Now is a great season for spider spotting. Voice naturalist Alex Morss shares some spider love

N AUTUMN, I often stare in awe at our spinning, stalking, scurrying, parachuting, ballooning, leaping, toiling silk artists. Dew-catchers that decorate the dawn and transform light into diamonds, flower ticklers, aerial engineers, house cleaners and, towards their prey, magnificent marvels of menace*. Spiders are incredibly industrious creatures, serving nature and us with useful ecosystem jobs, being the meaty menu of many food webs, also offering natural pest control, and in between inspiring many a construction engineer, scientist

Forget the fear – spiders are our friends, and Bristol has some real beauties and artist. I realise a few folk recoil at the idea of sharing their home or even the garden with spiders and might opt for pesticides instead of welcoming nature’s harmless predators

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WILDLIFE WATCH

Very rare: But the greenfanged tube web spider is found in Bristol

indoors. Yet none of Britain’s 650-ish native spider species can give us more than a nip. But this fear can be so ingrained, it feels deeply primitive and incredibly challenging to many people. So I invited Bristol residents to share their spidery sightings and tales over social media. I was flooded with spider fan replies and not one was negative! And I reckon I’ve found the centre of the web of love, in Totterdown.

waying softly in the shrubs, a few silvery silks flicker in the lustre of autumn light as I approach an ordinary-looking Victorian house in Knowle. But it’s quickly apparent that I am facing hundreds of pairs of eyes. Giant creatures with rainbowcoloured leg warmers. Big fluffy arachnids woven in needlecraft, stuffed ones and Lego ones, stained glass arthropods and origami crab spiders. Then some four foot harvestmen or daddylong-legs** threaten to upstage it all. A tall, friendly-looking man beams out from behind a spiderweb stained-glass window, holding an oversized webby mug and wearing a T-shirt covered in curious arachnid faces, each flamboyantly sporting several pairs of eyes. (Spider eyes help us to identify them: they generally have eight eyes, but sometimes they have 12, 6, 4, 2 or even none.) We wander into a lounge smothered in dangling, furry, woolly and hairy legs. I half expected to see the iconic

Spider-Man character, but he is missing. “Ah, he’s a bit lame really isn’t he?” teases Garth Bushell in a whisper, children safely out of ear shot. This family are more into the sci-fi world of Children of Time, an awardwinning book starring giant alien spiders, by Adrian Tchaikovsky. “Some people comment when they walk in that we still have our Halloween display up, but it’s like this all year,” he grins. Garth’s fiancée Heather Iles even has a spider engraved inside her engagement ring, beside the word ‘love’. Evidently a gifted seamstress, she knits, weaves, crochets and sews huge spiders in all shapes, colours and sizes, with a big dollop of humour, each one given an affectionate name. The spider theme is threaded through clothes, crockery, furnishings and memorabilia, and even the family camper van. “People do comment on the amount of spiders,” says Heather. “I made Garth some leg warmers for his spider, for his birthday. As soon as I’d made eight leg warmers for one spider, all the others needed them!” Garth admits: “I have a rather large collection of toy spiders. I pretty much buy every one that comes out! I also have an amazingly creative partner. I think Heather has made me over 15 spiders.” What about real spiders? “We love them, the kids love them,” cheers Heather. “At school there was a spider in the classroom and some of the kids were shrieking, but Freddie went up, grabbed it and popped it outside.” Garth added: “I started liking spiders from an early age. I felt it unfair that such a useful animal should be so maligned. I think the most amazing thing about them is their webs. “Now is a great time to go in to your front garden or park early in the morning and see if you can find a cross spider, Araneus diadematus. They may be busy building a web – watching the construction and care put into this just astounds me. The strength and durability of spider silk blows me away and humans haven’t even got close to

November 2018

southbristolvoice

n FEATURES replicating such a strong and flexible material.” Any pets? “I’m not a great fan of any pets that need to be caged, so I don’t have any pet spiders. But the ones that wander in are welcome,” says Garth. “Spiders are nothing to be scared of in this country. They don’t want to attack you. I like the ones with giant palps [these look like giant boxing gloves, on the males]. We had a massive one in the sink!” Heather said casually: “A giant one dropped on me the other day when I got out of the shower, it came off my towel. That one made me jump a bit, but then it just ran off and hid.” As I leave, a mature and quite beautiful female silver and gold stripy cross spider sails to and fro on her silk scaffold and we ponder whether she will lay her eggs before autumn turns to winter, when her short life cycle will naturally end. We’ll wait until she’s finished before we cut the plants back, promise Garth and Heather.

MORE FANS

ver in Knowle, Ruth and David Drury have always given affectionate human names to all the spiders they find sharing their home. They reveal: “We do it so the kids aren’t scared. We’ve done this with all insects since our kids were young. There’s no theme. Mostly old people’s names for some reason. Lots get called Barry, Fred or Bill, also Gladys, Doris and a few Brians.” Gill Brown of Bristol

WILDLIFE WATCH STILL SCARED? BRISTOL Zoo’s ‘Living with Spiders’ courses can help people overcome any fear. It includes four hours with relaxation, hypnotherapy and optional meetings with ‘friendly’ spiders. A Zoo spokesperson said: “Average anxiety levels for participants during face-to-face spider encounters fell by over half after the course.” Courses are on November 26 and December 23. bristolzoo.org.uk/whats-on/ living-with-spiders the crumbling mortar of the chimney. A visiting plant expert showed us how to touch the web with a blade of grass and those black legs would shoot out!”

SPIDER FRIENDS

Naturalists’ Society recalled from her childhood: “I remember christening all the house spiders Maude. I’m still the go-to person for rescuing them from baths.’’ Rachel Heaton in Knowle said: “I never kill them. I avoid sucking them up the vacuum and always feel terrible if I walk through a web on my morning dog walks – so much work ruined in a flash. I love them.” Sam Wiltshire recalled one seven-legged house spider on Windmill Hill, probably one of the huge Tegenaria species looking for a mate, which kept coming back in the house after

being gently set free in the garden, three times. “Unless there were others with the same missing leg, this one was determined about where it wanted to be!” he laughed. Did you know Bristol even has a spider living locally that has luminous green teeth? Susan Acton-Campbell revealed she has seen it in the distinctive tower visible on the South Bristol skyline, towards Troopers Hill. This incredible alien tube web spider, Segestria florentina, has shacked up in Bristol’s industrial ruins after arriving as a stowaway on ships. “We used to find it in

will eat their mother when she dies. A bite from this one can feel like a prick from a needle, but nothing more serious.

in the morning. Egg sacs are hidden around the garden. It paralyses its prey and injects enzymes that dissolve the insect’s insides.

PHOTO: Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez, Wikimedia Commons

GREEN FANGED TUBE WEB Pictured opposite page, top The rare, iridescent green-fanged tube web spider, Segestria florentina, hides in a silk-lined tunnel inside old buildings around Bristol. It darts out when its silk trip wires are tugged. The spiderlings

CROSS SPIDER The cross spider or orb-weaver Araneus diadematus is a common garden spider. This pretty creature has a distinctive cross on its body, often with intricate orange, brown or yellow patterns. It creates beautiful wide webs that greet you

t least one Bristol pest control company brags that “insects don’t stand a chance” and parades photos of beautiful solitary bees, spiders (which are not actually insects) and other natural wonders being demonised. Too right they don’t stand a chance! That is not a world I want to live in, although it is increasingly heading that way. Many of the invertebrates that prop up the ecosystem we depend upon are suffering severe declines due to too much intolerance of them. * Fans of Marvel films will know that Menace is one of the enemies of Spider-man. ** There’s a myth that daddylong-legs are so venomous that they could kill people. They can’t. woodlice. A similar looking species is more often found in gardens, with a redder abdomen. PHOTO: Harry Mac

PHOTO: Mohamed Kamardine

CHAMELEON CRAB SPIDER Hiding in flowers, mature females can change colour to match the petals. South Bristol residents can find the cunning crab spider Misumena vatia in white, yellow or green. Males are mostly brown. PHOTO: Mohamed Kamardine

UNUSUAL BAKED BEAN SPIDER Nicknamed the ‘baked bean spider’ because of its looks, this is a Dysdera erythrina, spotted by Harry Mac of Bristol Naturalists’ Society. Bristol is one of a few places in Britain where it is still found. It has powerful jaws for chomping

ZEBRA SPIDER The zebra spider, Salticus scenicus, is a frequently found, rather cute, black and white striped resident in South Bristol gardens. Only 6-7mm long, it basks on dry, sunny places and leaps up to 10cm on prey. • With thanks to all the Voice readers who responded to Alex’s appeal for spider-lovers, and sent us photos.

Registered Charity No. 269177

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Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk

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n NEWS You’ve never baked like this A COUPLE living on St John’s Lane are baking along with the Great British Bakeoff – but adding a twist to each bake, from their island home of St Helena. Robin and Emma-Jane Richards run an art business, Bemmie, selling distinctive prints of Bristol as well as their mid-Atlantic home. The island has a mix of culinary influences, from Africa to India to Britain, making some

Unusual: Baked mackerel dish of their bakes rather unusual. “This week we made what we think is the worlds first ever ‘Stuffed Mackerel Danish’ as it was Danish week!” said Robin. You can follow the novel bakes at saintcooks.com

Anger at gun bill delay BRISTOL South MP Karin Smyth is angry that a debate on restricting gun use was pulled in the House of Commons on October 15 because, she says, the Government feared defeat. Ms Smyth has been trying to tighten rules on young people possessing air weapons after a

tragic incident in Hartcliffe in which 18-month-old Harry Studley of Hartcliffe was left with lasting injuries after being shot by a former family friend. The Offensive Weapons Bill has been postponed, and with it Ms Smyth’s amendment asking for a report on safe use of air guns.

Write to paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk LETTERS or to 18 Lilymead Avenue, BS4 2BX

Please put plan out on display I AM WRITING to see whether the Voice could help draw attention to the outline planning consultation period for the Broadwalk redevelopment proposal [Editor’s note – definitely, see pages 4-5]. This is the biggest redevelopment in Knowle for decades. I think residents need the opportunity to consider the application (containing 37 documents) and the implications fully and have sufficient time to feed back their views on the important issues of regeneration of the shopping centre, housing density and height, availability of parking, the impact on Redcatch Park, and the implications for already stretched services, health and education being key. It would help if the plans were available at Knowle and Filwood libraries, as lengthy documents are not always easy for everyone

to read online. Also, it would be helpful if further information was provided within the Broadwalk shopping centre, for example display boards including, if possible, a 3D model. I appreciate that there was a public exhibition in the shopping centre in July that attracted a lot of people. I also note that there has been consultation with many stakeholders prior to the application being submitted. However, having lived in Knowle for 30 years, I and others feel we would also like the best opportunity to provide feedback within the statutory process. Name supplied Maxse Road, Knowle

Witch almost put me off I ALWAYS enjoy reading the Wicked Witch column. This time however, I was about to make my debut at the Jubilee pool when I read it and she nearly put me off (which

Will Writing & Estate Planning

November 2018

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LETTERS and provide your postal address.

Please keep letters as short as possible,

probably says more about me). Of course I know that we should take her stories with a pinch of salt, but to put in a good word for this pool; the light wasn’t gloomy, the showers weren’t cold and I did find a cubicle to get dressed in, thank God. My swimming cap didn’t give me a facelift unfortunately – but I did see that tumbleweed. MV, Totterdown

It’s just called Totterdown ON READING the letter “Where’s Lower Totterdown?” in the October issue of SBV I almost punched the air. I have also lived here for 30-plus years and it was always just Totterdown – no Upper, no Lower, no Triangle – just Totterdown! Same as all these “quarters” Bristol now has – it’s a load of pretentious poppycock. Lynn, Windsor Terrace, Totterdown (just Totterdown)

Roundabout is dangerous IS ANYTHING to be done about the roundabout on the A370 feeding to the new bypass? As you leave Bristol, heading south west on the Long Ashton bypass to head south towards the A38, there is a filter lane. Twice in as many months I have had to brake suddenly to avoid idiots coming off that lane and cutting across the white lines. Either drivers in Bristol need to be educated in how to drive properly or the roundabout needs to be redesigned with a Give Way or a Stop sign. Name supplied

Please tell us something new AS MUCH as I appreciate South Bristol Voice giving the Mr Rees column inches every month, I would be grateful if his content

17 Write to paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk or to 18 Lilymead Avenue, BS4 2BX

contained at least some information, preferably about something he has achieved for the city. Something, perhaps, such as a visit to Singapore ... Mr Rees’s last input to the Voice consisted of an advert for Facebook and a “range of media to engage with you all directly”. I really don’t give a tinker’s cuss that he’s on Facebook. Or indeed, any other mode of communication. Perhaps on Facebook he’s told his audience that he writes in South Bristol Voice. Dr Peter Hale Morley Road, Southville

20 years is a long time I NOTE that the mayor still wants to pursue a mass transit system for Bristol – outlined in the last Voice and confirmed by him in his State of the City address on October 17. Like many people, I would love to see a Bristol underground.

But this autumn’s chronic delays to buses have shown that we can’t wait 20 years. Mr Rees’s ideas, revealed in his address, for a flat-rate bus fare and doubling bus usership are positive. But can they be introduced before Bristol is in a permanent state of logjam? TS, Totterdown

Lazy comment I FEEL that the Rev Brendan Bassett’s comments in October’s Thought for the Month were lazy. ‘Turning up in a dress’ cannot be likened to gender transition. A poorly-judged question from his male friend which the Rev then turned into a joke. These kind of attitudes towards a sensitive and complex issue don’t help anyone. T Blackmore, Victoria Park • Rev Brendan Bassett responds: “T Blackmore makes a valuable comment. The lighthearted quip was solely intended to disarm any sense of rejection or shock. How should I have dealt with the person’s question? I’m always willing to learn.”

Children in care want you to know it’s not like The Dumping Ground at all! BRISTOL’S Children in Care Council meet regularly to represent the voice of 680 children in care in the city. Members include James, aged 10, to Sophie, 17. They want you, the Bristol public, to know that being in care is not like CBBC’s Dumping Ground show at all. Here are what some of the members say:

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“People think that we live in a care home when we tell them we are in foster care, but we don’t. We live in a family with a mum and a dad, sometimes foster siblings, sometimes our own siblings”. “Sometimes people think I am in care because I misbehaved and am naughty, but it’s because my mum couldn’t look after me properly. She loves me, she just couldn’t do it.”

What I need: One child’s desires

“A good foster carer is someone who makes sure you are involved in the whole family, not stuck upstairs on your own. My foster family has taken me on holiday.” “At first I didn’t like people at school knowing I was in care, because I thought they would think I had been bad and that my mum and dad didn’t want me. Now I am proud and I have stood up in front of the whole school and talked about being in care.”

The Children in Care Council would urge you to ‘check it out’ if you are interested in fostering!

www.bristol.gov.uk/fostering

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Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk

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n THE PROPERTY PAGE

NEWS ABOUT HOMES

Chance to quiz property experts on how to buy First outing for Q&A style event for homebuyers TWO INDEPENDENT property businesses from BS3 have got together to host their own Q&A for anyone who wants to find out more about buying a home. Property Question Time is being held at North Gallery Workspace, 133-135 North Street, Bedminster, from 6-7.30pm on Thursday November 8. It is the brainchild of estate agent Urban Lighthouse, run by Laurence Irvine, and mortgage broker Catherine Hope of Hope Mortgage Solutions. Also on hand will be a surveyor, solicitor and accountant. The aim is to provide a new kind of event where anyone thinking of buying

a property can ask questions about any aspect of the process. “We are all experienced people so I would be surprised if there is a question we can’t answer,” said Laurence. “There will be a short introduction from all of us about our respective roles, a Q&A, and then an opportunity to ask individual experts on a one-toone basis, in an informal setting. “I hope many of you will come along and see the very best of our independent property experts.” Laurence set up Urban Lighthouse last year after 20 years experience in home sales in South Bristol, while Catherine branched out with her own firm after working for a mortgage consultancy. Details from Laurence at homes@urbanlighthouse.co.uk or Catherine at Catherine@ hopemortgagesolutions.co.uk.

November 2018

n NEWS About to give up work? Here’s how to cope ANYONE about to give up work is invited to an event designed to help those aged 55 plus to manage the shift into the next phase of their lives. Called Post-Retirement Opportunities, it’s in the Sports Bar at Ashton Gate stadium from 6-8pm on November 28. It’s free. Aimed at people thinking of retirement or facing redundancy, it will focus on the areas of money, work and volunteering as well as learning, leisure and health and wellbeing. Retired headteacher and blogger Julia Skinner will share insights from her own retirement journey, and there will be more guest speakers, workshops and representatives from a range of organisations. It’s organised by LinkAge Network. To book a place, call 0117 353 3042 or visit linkagenetwork.org.uk/pro

238 Wick Road, Brislington BS4 4HN

MEMBERS of Malago WI are celebrating their 10th anniversary by throwing open their doors to a taster evening on Wednesday November 28 – an evening of arts and crafts, tea and cakes, and the chance to meet some new friendly people. Malago Women’s Institute was started in October 2008 by friends Karen Bowers and Lottie Storey, who met while pregnant. Bolstered by eight others, the group has since blossomed and welcomed many speakers and activities over the past decade. In October the national WI celebrated 100 years of campaigns to support and empower women. WI resolutions have often been ahead of their time, including Make Time for Mental Health, End Plastic Soup, Food Matters and Alleviating Loneliness. Malago members range from working women and new mums to retirees from Bedminster, Totterdown and Brislington. They meet on the last Wednesday of the month from 8-10pm (not December) at Bedminster Methodist Church, British Road.

We’re turning Christmas bright green Cakes made for the Pride Festival

Invitation from the WI Over the past year, events have covered fermentation, sugar crafting, keeping bees, women’s health, and plastics in our oceans. Trips have been made to the Spicery on Feeder Road and the old city, as well as taking a stall at the Pride Festival. To find out more, email Avril Baker at avril@abc-pr.co.uk or call 0117 977 2002 or 0780 395 4120. malagowi.co.uk • More on the Voice website

PUPILS and parents at St Mary Redcliffe primary school are dreaming of a green Christmas with an energy-themed Winter Fair. As well as festive favourites including gift stalls, cakes, carols and Father Christmas’s Grotto, there will be an Energy Zone. Activities include a bikegenerated smoothie maker and Scalextrix set. Families will also be able to find out how they can reduce their fuel bills and make their homes energy-efficient. Organisations helping out include Bristol Energy, the Centre for Sustainable Energy and Bristol Energy Network. Headteacher Marie Thomas said: “We know that many of our families are interested in doing their bit to reduce their carbon footprint. Everyone is welcome.” It’s on Saturday December 1, 1-4pm; £1 adults, children free.

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Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk

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November 2018

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n THE MAYOR

MARVIN REES Mayor of Bristol

Our new deal on transport will transform the way we move around the city

HIS week was my State of the City annual address. I enjoy the opportunity to speak direct to the city and I hope you saw, heard or read some details of the speech. In preparing for this, it was worthwhile and rewarding to look at just how much we have achieved in the two years since my election. I talked about how we have turned around the broken council we inherited, with a £30million financial hole and a report showing a “collective failure of leadership”, to today, when an independent review has concluded we are now fit for purpose and

focused on delivery. I also spoke about the way the city is now pulling together towards key priorities and working with partners to deliver a city plan, city office and city fund that will transform Bristol beyond party politics and beyond the electoral cycle. But, most importantly I was able to reflect

on the major initiatives we have already delivered on. New schools and increased school places, exceeding our housing targets, the children’s charter, the talent pipeline projects, improvements to adult social care, and the work that we are doing on community cohesion and community development and on inclusive growth, so nobody gets left behind by the success of the city. On top of all that, I added some detail to our plans for the development of the Western Harbour, the housing and mixed use development of Temple Quarter, and the re-development of Temple Meads station. And, if that’s not enough, I committed to do more to solve Bristol’s chronic transport problems that no administration has ever tackled. I talked about a new deal we were putting together with First Bus for a standard fixed fare for all, across the whole city, bringing equality to bus travel, along with increased bus services and the development of a mass transit system. The latter will be a segregated, new transport system using infrastructure and tunnels that will transform the way we move around the city. The speech is available to view on YouTube now, and there is a transcript on my blog. thebristolmayor.com

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Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk

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November 2018

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n COLUMNS

INVITATION

In witch I get wordy

OW exciting! I got some fan mail, from somebody I don’t know, having a rant at my opinion. I loved it and attempted to read it out to my family. I was doing OK until I hit the word “anthropomorphise”. I could not say it, let alone understand what it meant. The next day I saw one of my familiars at a time too early to be civilised. We usually ignore each other, probably because we cannot see properly at that hour, but she called out to have a chat. I told her about my fan letter and the word I could not say, explaining that it meant to humanise animals. “Ahh” she pondered, “yes, I know it” and

Who is the Wicked Witch? She’s the one looking up her spells in a thesaurus trotted on her way, muttering the word out loud until she got it right and with a joyous cry she shouted it to me – I was a bit jealous! My fan letter told me off for humanising otters. I called the otter evil. Maybe I should have said it was in fact nefarious (even more evil – great word and yes I have been Googling ‘how to look more intelligent with big words’). But is evil a human characteristic? I turned once again to Google and found more meanings for evil: sinister, vicious, devilish, fiendish,

corrupt – OK, that last word would not be appropriate but all the others tick the otter box for me so I am not going to apologise. I have a delightful teenage girl child whom I often refer to as Evil. I have recently been requested to call her something that does not relate to otters. My Dad reads these columns and says that he is not comfortable with me addressing her in this way; he sighs sadly, wondering if it is a generational thing. Evil agrees with him. She hates me writing about her and often threatens to sue me. Reluctantly I considered what she is: a sweetheart, darling, funny (very propitious and a little bit pernicious – no idea) with a large dash of teenage angst. So Evil has been renamed Cherub – oh my, she will hate that!

Down on the Farm News from Windmill Hill City Farm with Beccy Golding

Breathing space

F CJ Hole Southville invite you to accept our offer of a free sales or lettings valuation.

OLLOWING the community conversation on clean air held at the farm in October, Breathe In, Breathe Out is a children’s workshop on November 2, from 10am-12 noon. Conduct simple experiments to test local air quality, brainstorm solutions and create posters to get the messages across. Soft drinks and biscuits are provided, children must be accompanied. It’s free, but register online.

I have lots of wordy friends. I was meeting one of them at Weston-super-Mare; we were going to the theatre to see a show. This was before satnav on phones. I called Mrs Wordy to ask where the theatre was. She responded by saying it was perpendicular to the pier. What? Perpendicular? Of course I have heard of that word and could actually say it. But what did it mean in that situation? I could not admit this to Mrs Wordy so I called someone I could rely on to help me out without judgement. My friend, who I often refer to as Mrs Bean, was absolutely no help at all. After she had stopped laughing, Mrs Bean shouted to her teenage son, who explained that my destination could be found at a 90 degree angle from the Pier. I never found it.

windmillhillcityfarm.org.uk

Time of the month

Meat market

NOVEMBER’S monthly menopause social is on Sunday November 4, 10.30am-12 noon. This is a free event, no booking required, with free drinks and cakes, held upstairs in the training room. Any woman affected by the menopause is very welcome to attend this friendly supportive group.

FARM-reared lamb and goat meat is available to buy from the farm shop throughout November and December.

Martin’s manoeuvres MARTIN the donkey lives in Liverpool with his human Adam Lee, a photographer and walker. Together this autumn they are walking the length of western Britain, from Cape Wrath in Scotland to the Isle of Portland in England, raising money for youth homelessness charity

Christmas is coming

Martin and Adam drop in PHOTO: Christine Higgott

Centrepoint. At the beginning of October Martin and Adam enjoyed an overnight stay at the farm, having a rest along their 700 mile journey. You can follow them here: adamwalks.wordpress.com

IN A CHANGE from the usual Christmas Fair, this year there will be a Festive Farm Evening, held in the café on Thursday December 6 from 6-8.30pm. There will be carols around the campfire with Windmill Hillbased à cappella choir Break Out Voices, as well as traditional mulled wine, mince pies and homemade stew. Festive fun will include Guess the Weight of the Christmas cake, a gift market in the Homegrown shop, storytelling and more.

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Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk

n YOUR COUNCILLORS

November 2018

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EADERS may remember that when the present mayor came to office, he paid off the Gary previous chief Hopkins executive with Lib Dem £200,000 because Knowle they could not work together. There was some concern about this not being declared properly in the accounts and a warning was issued by the auditors about proper process not being followed. Many will also remember that in 2017, against advice, the mayor appointed a new chief executive, who seven months later left in a hurry with many concerns being expressed. The mayor claimed that the officer had resigned but it later emerged in Private Eye that she had been paid £100,000 to go. The mayor has been twisting and turning on this mess ever since and has even tried unsuccessfully smearing councillors, like myself,

Knowle

who have kept asking the awkward questions. I, along with colleagues, had written to the council’s auditors with information and raised the matter with the council’s audit committee. The mayor had claimed that the payment when it emerged was money the ex-chief executive was entitled to under her contract, and it was described this way in the accounts given to auditors. The auditors have rejected this, and insisted that it is described as compensation for loss of office (which she was not entitled to if she resigned). Of course, in lay terms this was a bung to keep her quiet. Listening to the auditors, the all-party audit committee unanimously agreed with their concerns and voted to investigate further. So having been caught out trying to mislead everyone with how public cash was used, his reaction on Radio Bristol was to start a smear campaign against the auditors. You could not make it up!

How to contact your councillor: p2

AR too much time has been taken up trying to get the developers of No 1 Redcatch Road to act in Chris a responsible Davies manner towards Lib Dem the residents and Knowle businesses of Knowle. There have been problems from the start, when plans were changed before work started, and then planning officers decided to pass plans without adequate checks. Since then we have had pavement and road blockages and constant complaints about unsafe working and unnecessary disturbance. When passing the plans, officers thought there was rear access to the site, but there was not, and the latest is that they seem to have failed to make appropriate plans for drains. I have again pushed planning enforcement and highways teams. The scheme is nearing completion but the pavement is

still blocked and I am anxious for pedestrians, particularly the elderly and buggy pushers. Deliveries to the shopping centre have also been disrupted. We hope that the eventual occupiers will be told about the lack of rear access or we will have further problems with waste etc. The other local problem is the homeless couple occupying the doorway at the old Co-op Bank. There has been a wide range of local views, some sympathetic, some not. They can expect to be offered basic accommodation and they have now become a police problem, as complaints have risen, along with concerns about safety when they wander in the road. The StreetWise outreach worker, richard.hawkridge@bristol. gov.uk, has said that numerous kindly people are feeding them from nearby takeaways, and this could make it more difficult to get them to make a voluntary move to more suitable accommodation before winter sets in. As we go to press, it seems they may have chosen to move on. I hope so.

To advertise, contact sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk or Ruth on 07590 527664

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n YOUR COUNCILLORS

INCE the winding up of the local Neighbourhood Partnerships, there has not been a Jon mechanism Wellington whereby residents Labour can access funds to Windmill Hill improve their area through their local councillors. Previously, each partnership had access to a small pot of cash for minor highways works such as speed bumps, as well as access to Section 106 or CIL money (cash from local developers to mitigate for the negative impacts of development). In the last year, the council has asked councillors to go into their communities and identify priorities for their neighbourhoods in order to access CIL funds through the new area committees. Our committee covers six wards in South Bristol. My inbox would suggest that roads and highways, traffic and congestion are the main issues,

Windmill Hill

and the recent statistical profile survey for our ward also showed that 93 per cent of respondents were unhappy with the traffic and congestion in the ward, compared to 73 per cent in Bristol overall. Unfortunately, we were unable to access funds for highways improvements due to a backlog of projects across the city, so we decided, following a public meeting earlier this year, to prioritise parks projects. We bid for £25,000 funding for the play area in Perrett’s park, and for £60,000 to improve the skate park in Victoria Park. I am very pleased to say that these bids were agreed, and subject to a final assessment the funds should be made available soon. I am delighted to have been able to secure this cash for our valued green spaces. Next year I hope to be able to bid for highways projects but we will determine the priorities for the area at our new Windmill Hill Network meetings. The next meeting is on November 14 at 7.30pm at Victoria Park Baptist Church.

How to contact your councillor: p2

WAS pleased to discover that the Labour council is set to complete 2,469 new homes, with 916 being affordable, Lucy by 2020. Other Whittle action to tackle our Labour housing shortage Windmill Hill includes setting up a housing company that will launch later this month. Not only will it give the council greater control over where and what homes are built, but profits will also be re-invested into affordable and social housing. As part of the drive to develop more housing solutions the mayor has also set up the Bristol Housing Festival. I went along on the opening weekend and was inspired and excited by so much of what I saw, particularly the carbon neutral ZEDPod – a home so efficient it will have no energy bills! Exhibitors at the free launch exhibition include manufacturers, designers and tech innovators.

The Housing Festitval is open every day from 11am-6pm until November 4 near Millennium Square. The Bristol Housing Festival is all about exploring innovative solutions to the housing crisis. As well as providing more opportunities for people to buy or rent affordable homes, Bristol also wants to engage with council tenants so they can help us shape services. Local Housing Forums are meetings where council tenants can discuss local housing services and issues with the council. They will be a link between council tenants, local decision-making organisations, and other agencies. If you live in Windmill Hill ward (which includes Totterdown and parts of Bedminster and Knowle) you are in Local Housing Area 5. The next Area 5 meeting is on December 12 from 6.15-8.30pm at the Southville Centre, Beauley Road, Southville BS3 1QG. The main topic will be anti-social behaviour. Email any queries to tpu@bristol.gov.uk

Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk

November 2018

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n GOING VEGAN

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Let us show you how exciting vegan food can be Eat Your Greens

Bocabar

OCABAR is a buzzy, fairylit lounge and dining haven for friends, family, work colleagues and for all occasions. The large building at Paintworks gives ample space and diverse menus, running all day and evening, aiming to match everyone’s preferred food choices. The deli kitchen uses local and seasonal ingredients to make a delicious assortment of salads, pickles, tortillas, quiches, cakes and desserts that always offer vegan and gluten-free options. Breakfasts and brunch menus also include vegan and vegetarian favourites such as smashed avocado on sourdough toast and black bean salsa and shakshuka – if you haven’t tried it, that’s baked eggs in a cumin and paprika spiced tomato, roast

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varied regular menu from the giant Beasty Breakfast to EYG waffles, a daily lunch bowl with roast veg, and seasonal soup. Everything is available gluten-free, and queries about allergies and food intolerances are positively encouraged – the aim is for everyone to enjoy. For a different treat, there’s a special three-course vegan menu when the Pitchfork café hosts a pop-up event on November 13. Details will be on Facebook and Instagram – booking is advised.

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pepper and onion sauce, served with toasted ciabatta. Come in for lunch and the choice from the deli bar consists of 8-10 daily lunch specials and a choice of over 30 Boca pizzas including 10 vegetarian, with vegan cheese if preferred. You’ll also find a good choice of drinks including vegan wines and beers. What’s new is that you can also now have pizzas, salads and drinks delivered to your home or workplace by Deliveroo.

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Boca

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Butternut squash is among vegan dishes, which also include pizzas

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

EXCITING WAYS WITH PLANT-BASED FOOD

BRISTOL ARC UPDATE

From Bristol Animal Rescue Centre

It costs £19 a day to look after an animal in our care – now’s the time to help us pay the bills

It’s not about giving anything up, but gaining new taste adventures

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Spread festive cheer for the animals we all hold dear

Paintworks, Bath Road BS4 3EH 0117 972 8838 Menu: bristol.bocabar.co.uk Order: deliveroo.co.uk

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

T’S NOT any kind of hardship to eat plant-based food, and Eat Your Greens is here to prove it. Looking at chef Babs Greaves’ colourful and imaginative dishes, even hardened carnivores are known to salivate. On the regular autumn menu, the mains include homemade gnocchi with sunflower seed, spinach and sun-dried tomato pesto, fresh rocket, crispy oyster mushrooms and locally-grown mixed leaf salad. If you want a burger, the EYG version is made with smoky sweet potato, roasted red onion and turtle beans, with pineapple rose harissa relish mayo, lettuce, sliced tomato, smoky gouda (vegan) cheese, hand-cut chips or side salad. Daytimes there’s a

November 2018

To advertise, contact sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk or Ruth on 07590 527664

UR CHRISTMAS Fair is back on November 18! And this year it is set to be bigger and better than ever before. Think homemade gifts, fun games, delightful Christmas treats, yummy cakes and, of course, the star of the show – Santa! We will have mince pies and mulled wine, as well as a whole host of festive fun and cheer, at one of our biggest annual events. All of the money raised throughout the day will go back into supporting the animals in our care at Bristol Animal Rescue Centre. It costs £19 a day to

provide an animal in our Rehoming Centre with a full tummy, routine vet care, a clean bed, training and toys. If you’re coming along to the Fair, how about bringing a cake for us to sell on the day? Every 10 slices of cake sold enables us to microchip a stray animal. Every slice counts! There is so much fun to be had for all family members – adults and children alike. Entry costs just £1.50 for an adult and £1 for a child. Come and find us at The Barn, 1 Victor Street, St

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n HISTORY STRIVING FOR PEACE IN THE GREAT WAR Meet the men who would rather face death than raise arms in anger

6 is M, N or O 7 is P, Q,Zambia R or S 8 is T, U or V 9 is W, X, Y or Z

November 2018

Part I

We remember the hundreds of Bristolians who believed their real duty in World War I was to their fellow humans, not to join any army

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n TAKE A BREAK

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November 2018

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N NOVEMBER 11 the nation will mark 100 years since the end of hostilities in World War I, the war remembered above all others for its piteous and seemingly senseless loss of life. The Voice has run several history features recalling what was then known as the Great War, focusing on those who fought and suffered on the front line. Now it’s time to look at those who chose not to fight. Conscientious objectors (COs) were a new phenomenon. The notion that anyone would refuse to fight for their country for any reason other than cowardice was hard for many to understand. Nowadays we mainly remember the sacrifice of millions of men who served and died in the trenches. But 20,000 British men refused, on principle, to raise arms against their fellow man. Many did so for religious reasons; many, like our Totterdown family featured here, were Quakers, whose faith encouraged independent thought. Others had political convictions – socialists and anarchists, for example, who would not fight their fellow workers from whatever nation, and believed the real enemy was the capitalist class. About 400 of the COs who have been identified were from Bristol; 20 or more were from South Bristol (we will publish a list next month). They were supported by a network of sympathisers, many of them women, like Bristol’s Mavis Tothill, who gave advice on the

law and facing the tribunals set up to decide who was to be given exemption when military service became compulsory in 1916. For those on the run, a network of safe houses existed throughout the country, to hide them and even spirit them away via Liverpool docks to a new life in the US. Some sympathisers also helped deserters – men on the run from the army, who numbered in the thousands. There were severe penalties for anyone caught helping people to evade military service – as we will see next month when we tell the tale of a Bedminster shopkeeper who seems to have succeeded for years in hiding draft-dodgers and COs in a secret chamber under his shop. Our thanks go to the Otherstory theatre company, who have held an exhibition and a puppet show telling the story of several South Bristol ‘conchies’ and the people who helped them. Otherstory is holding events in the new year for anyone interested in finding out more about the 1914-18 anti-war movement in South Bristol, and intends to create a ‘puppet walk’ visiting places connected with COs in Bedminster (see page 31).

HERE were many reasons why men refused to fight, but there was no doubt about the motivation of Roland Reinge of Oxford Street, Totterdown. “I thank God … that I was given strength to bear witness and testimony to the teachings of Jesus Christ, who refused to

Emotional appeal: When tens of thousands of men could be killed in the trenches in a single day, the need for manpower was huge. Government propaganda tried to persuade men that they owed it to their comrades to share the risks of battle. Few chose to resist establish his kingdom by force. I firmly believe that to engage either directly or indirectly in militarism or war is contrary to the teachings of Jesus.” With those words he ended his (so far) unpublished memoir. Roland and his brothers, Sidney and Baden Powell Reinge, ignored the considerable moral pressure put on all young men to “do their duty” and volunteer for the army; they not only refused the call-up when it came, but they turned down any alternative work which might in any way support the war effort. Roland, who was 21 when conscription began in 1916, was training as a carpenter. Sidney, 19, was a grocer’s assistant, while Baden, 16, had not yet found a job. The treatment of COs was often thought of as harsh – and it was. But Roland Reinge faithfully records the opportunities the

brothers were given to reach a compromise. On their first appearance before a tribunal in early 1916, Sidney and Roland were given an exemption from military service. This sounds ideal, but Roland wanted a ruling without conditions, so they appealed. The appeal tribunal chairman warned him that an unconditional ruling wasn’t possible, and he could easily lose his exemption. The military representative at the tribunal said he couldn’t understand why the brothers weren’t satisfied, as they had a ruling “many others would be glad to have.” The brothers told him they understood, but they were worried that they would be called on to do some job in substitution which would free someone else to work for the war effort. So keen Continued overleaf

Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk

November 2018

southbristolvoice

n HISTORY Continued from page 29 were they that they would not support the military in any way that they wouldn’t accept any job they were ordered to do. Surprisingly, the military representative relented, saying he would not push them into any “substitution work”. He told the tribunal: “I do not understand these men not wanting to help their country in time of need, neither can I agree with their views, but I am certainly convinced that they are sincere in their beliefs.” The authorities went to great lengths to tease out possible objections to war work and sometimes tried to find work that was acceptable to COs. But the Reinges would take no “war work”. At an earlier tribunal the brothers were asked: “In the event of an air raid, would you refuse to help the wounded?” The brothers answered: “No.” “If the wounded should be soldiers, would you refuse?” “No.” “Then there can be no reason

STRIVING FOR PEACE IN THE GREAT WAR Part I

Charles Dowden: At Dartmoor prison, 1917 why you should not join the RAMC (Royal Army Medical Corps)?” “We have a conscientious objection to joining the RAMC.” “Why?” “Because it is a part of the military machine.”

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Charles Dowden, left, was a South Bristol member of the No-Conscription Fellowship. He appealed against his conscription and lost. On August 25, 1916, he disappeared. He later went to a house in Winscombe, Somerset, owned by Elizabeth Hutchinson, a Quaker and supporter of the COs. She had invited Dowden, 28 and another ‘deserter’, George Elliott, 27, to spend a week in the house and carry out some decorating – presumably in order to look as if they had a reason for being there. But Hutchinson was caught and tried before Bristol magistrates on December 12, 1916. The court heard that she had sent Elliott 30 shillings (£1.50, worth about £80 today) on October 10, giving him directions to her house in Winscombe and instructions to decorate “one room as much as possible in case the army authorities sent for them.” In court her solicitor argued she had done nothing to help the men evade military service, merely offered them the use of her weekend home. She was fined £1, while Elliott and Dowden were imprisoned. Little is known about Charles Dowden except that he lived at Bishopsworth Road, Bedminster Down and worked at Imperial Tobacco.

oland’s memoir begins with his childhood memories of playing with his brothers. He remembered running past Temple Meads station, challenged by Sid to jump over an old boot-black’s box. “One Saturday morning, I missed and kicked the box and tins all over the place. I remember having the sense to duck as a stick flew over my head, and the next moment finding my head securely fast, for I had run between a policeman’s legs. “Imagine my fear and horror when the policeman, in jest, told the boot-black to lather me well with the stick.” The Reinges were a religious family but seem to have been faithful to their own beliefs rather than dogmatic followers of one church. They attended meetings of the Quakers, where members are allowed to form their own beliefs, as well as Totterdown Methodist church. But this latter church was part of the war movement as far as Roland was concerned. Members were urged to support the war effort and when it became clear the Reinge brothers were not going to enlist, “one of the members threatened us never to put our feet over the threshold again” – a threat the family ignored. It struck Roland that

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“religious organisations … were no better than any other body of people” in the way they treated COs and their families. “In fact they were worse, for one might expect it from secular bodies, but not from them.” And it was a non-believer, Frank Yandel, a plumber who worked with Roland, who always stood up for him “and was always ready to answer those who were taunting me.” Perhaps later Roland would be less surprised: when he met more like-minded COs, he would have found them to be people with strong personal beliefs, but while some were deeply religious, others were committed to atheism, to socialism, anarchism, or some other belief.

ventually, on December 21, 1916, the reckoning came. A police wagon, drawn by a horse, arrived at Oxford Street and took the brothers first to Knowle police station (at that time in Calcot Road) and then on to the Bridewell before they were brought before the magistrates. The brothers had already been summoned to military service, and had ignored the call, so they were now technically deserters. They were taken to the army recruiting office in Narrow Wine Street, where they were offered the chance to be sworn in to the army and “take the King’s money”, the recruiting officer saying, “it would be much better for us, as we had now ceased to be subject to civil law and were purely subject to military law. If we persisted in our attitude it might result in very serious

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November 2018

southbristolvoice

n HISTORY

STRIVING FOR PEACE IN THE GREAT WAR Part I

TELLING THE STORY OF THE SOUTH BRISTOL COs

HE NATIONAL Lottery has given Otherstory, the Bristol puppet theatre collective, £4,200 to discover the hidden histories of conscientious objection and resistance to WWI in South Bristol. George Barker’s cycle shop in Cannon Street, Bedminster, is just one location which Otherstory will weave into a puppet history walk which next year will help commemorate 100 years since the end of the conflict. Otherstory wants to hear from people who have their own family connections to the anti-war movement. It has already mounted an exhibition which has been seen in Bristol Cathedral, where one woman walked in to see a picture of her grandfather in a group of conscientious objectors held at Dartmoor prison. Many families did not talk about men who refused to fight; but others were proud of their resistance, which took courage and determination. Many were imprisoned without their families even knowing where they were. The workshops will show people how to research the history of war resistance in South Bristol around World War I. There will then

consequences. We told him we were sorry we could not alter our views and quite understood the seriousness of our position.” They waited to be taken to Horfield barracks; then “the officer came to us and asked us how we were going to manage in the barracks with no money in our pockets. He suggested that, at least, we take the money he had offered us. He was very cunning and polite. We replied that it was not our wish to be considered soldiers and we had no desire to accept army money.” If they had taken the “King’s money”, no doubt they would have been considered to have accepted their military service. The brothers spent Christmas 1916 in the barracks. The other soldiers were mostly kind to them, even sharing their Christmas presents, and seemed impressed when the Reinges refused to stand for an officer. They even refused to answer their names to a roll call, but a corporal answered for them. The charade continued when

George Barker and his cycle shop in the Otherstory puppet show. We’ll tell George’s story next month be an opportunity to work with professional puppeteers and musicians to develop a puppet history walk. The workshops will run from January to March 2019 in Bedminster. Finally the ‘walk’ will

be taken out onto the streets of Bedminster: going to places where the history happened, to tell people the stories discovered using puppetry and song. The Otherstory website reveals more.

The walk will also feature as part of Commemoration, Conflict and Conscience, a national festival at Bristol’s M Shed in April 2019. otherstory.org/hiding-placesand-hidden-histories

they were taken to Chiseldon army camp in Wiltshire. They were taken to the quartermaster’s stores, given uniforms and told to put them on. Of course, they refused. This was taken as their first refusal of a military order, and they were put in detention to await a court martial. Two days before the court martial, they had a visit from an army chaplain. This encounter confirmed the sharp contrast between the behaviour which the brothers believed was required by their understanding of Christianity, and the conduct most clergy expected. “It was not long before we were involved in a strong discussion on the Christian attitude to war, which was not at all to his liking. He asked us to seriously consider our position and reflect on our duty to the country and our fellow men. He also dwelt on the general disgrace and the serious position we were now in. “He said he would like to help us and could exercise some

influence on our behalf. This we strongly resented, saying that Christ’s teaching was that of peace, and that we felt his attitude was that of the ‘false prophets which come to you in sheep’s clothing’. Here the visit ended and we did not see him again.”

dressed] in civilian clothes and bowler hats, so there was a touch of comedy about the whole thing,” wrote Roland. Hard labour could have been worse: it turned out to mean making mail bags. Alternatives were making sandbags and other items for the military, but the Reinges wouldn’t do that. The regime, though, was hard to bear. The first month was spent in solitary confinement with a short period of exercise each day. During the first two weeks prisoners had to sleep on bare boards; a hard mattress was issued after two weeks. The food was so bad that at first Roland ate little, spoiled by his mother’s home cooking. But soon hunger won him over and he wolfed down the pint of porridge issued morning and evening with six ounces (170g) of bread. Lunch was potatoes and bread with the addition of a small lump of rancid bacon on Mondays, a small portion of meat in a stew on Tuesdays and Continued overleaf

o far Roland and Sidney had encountered relatively civilised treatment, and they had certainly been given plenty of opportunities to change their minds. Even the court martial was a fairly restrained affair. The military officers stuck to the facts of the case and – in contrast to the civilian tribunal – didn’t cast aspersions about the brothers’ lack of patriotism. The sentence was delivered to the brothers on a parade ground full of hundreds of soldiers. The Reinges were ordered to take three paces forward; they didn’t, of course, so they were pushed. They were sentenced to 112 days hard labour in Wormwood Scrubs jail in London. “The sentence was received [with us

Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk

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n HISTORY Continued from page 31 Thursdays, suet pudding on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and pea soup or salt fish on Fridays. Any food uneaten was eagerly traded by other prisoners. “This experience often made me reflect how fastidious I had been at times, causing Mother much trouble in trying to please me,” Roland wrote later. At the end of the 112-day sentence there was more comedy, when it transpired that a single sergeant was to escort them back to the Wiltshire army camp. He attempted to get the brothers to walk in single file, “but we politely informed him we would not walk in such a way.” The sergeant did not know how to control his unruly but polite charges, and became fractious. However, once Roland and Sidney convinced him that they would not try to escape, he relaxed, and even agreed that they should pay a visit to the brothers’ Aunt Cathie, who lived in London. The meal with their maiden aunt was a huge delight to the brothers, and as the sergeant seemed to enjoy himself too, they chanced their arm and asked if they could also drop in on Uncle Tom and Aunt Harriet, who lived nearby. This too was agreeable to the sergeant, who was probably having more fun than he had at the army camp, and the trio did not arrive back in Wiltshire until after midnight. Then the charade started again: the quartermaster handed out uniforms, the brothers refused to wear them, and they were sent for court martial. This time the sentence was one year, served in Winchester prison. It was the same dreary routine as before, with the prisoners trying to lever every little bit of autonomy they could. On most occasions they were not even allowed to speak to each other, so opportunities for rebellion were limited. On one occasion a sermon about the war at the Sunday service provoked the prisoners to stamp their feet in unison. The governor, enraged, looked for a ringleader, but couldn’t identify one. Another time, a serving of suet pudding, considered one of the better items on the menu, was replaced by a plate of hard, red herrings. So many refused to eat them that it was reported to the governor, who suspected a conspiracy, and “was not far

November 2018

STRIVING FOR PEACE IN THE GREAT WAR Part I

November 2018

n PLANNING APPLICATIONS Knowle ward: Awaiting decision

Knowle ward: Decided

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Tesco, 4 Axbridge Road BS4 2RX New store directory sign beside entrance, 1700mm x 800mm. 117 Somerset Road BS4 2HX Conversion from hipped to gable roof with rear dormer roof extension. 34 Leighton Road, Knowle BS4 2LL Single storey rear extension to extend beyond the rear by 5.8m, of maximum height 3.6m with eaves 2.74m high. 280 Wells Road, Knowle BS4 2PU First floor extension. A rare photo of conscientious objectors at the Home Office work camp at Dartmoor prison in 1917. Back row: far left Geoffrey Lees, Bishopston; 2nd left Bert Isaac, Easton; 4th left possibly G Boon; far right Charles Dowden, Bedminster Down. Middle: 2nd left, Ralph Toogood, Kingswood; centre Eric Crompton, Hallen; 2nd right Gilford Wolland, Kingswood; far right Percival Chapman, Bristol. Front: far left Frederick Gulliford, Midsomer Norton; centre William Pope, Cheltenham PHOTO: By kind permission of Paul Shotton wrong”, according to Roland. One day Roland was seen talking to a fellow prisoner and sent to a basement cell for three days on bread and water. After this Roland’s health began to suffer and Sidney, unable to talk to him, began to worry. But they were comforted by the kindness of a prison warder who, against rules that forbade him from a private conversation with a prisoner, visited Roland in secret one evening. He inquired after his health, passed on a message from Sidney, and promised to take a message back. He was an ex-soldier who had seen horrors in the Sudan and had respect for the brothers’ principled stand. For Roland, this was proof that “God moves in mysterious ways his wonders to perform.” Release came early this time: the sentence was reduced to six months, but this only meant a return to the army, the inevitable refusal to obey orders, and a return to prison. This time it was Shepton Mallet jail, where Roland had an enviable view from his top-floor cell of a cottage, which comforted him – even though looking out of his window was against the rules, and he could be punished for it. Concern for Roland’s health led the brothers to apply, reluctantly, to a Home Office work scheme at Dartmoor prison

at Princetown. The situation of the jail, high on the fog-shrouded moor, was forbidding, but the brothers were relieved that the work – in the laundry or on the prison farm – was not contributing to the war effort, and they could do it with a clear conscience. They were no longer technically prisoners, and they had unexpected freedoms. They were allowed to move around the prison in the evenings and talk to the hundreds of other COs there. Most were determined to do nothing that supported war in any way, but some socialists were prepared to fight if the object was to overthrow capitalism. They were even allowed to go for walks on the moor, as long as they didn’t enter any village apart from Princetown. Roland’s memoir, which was typed up in his later life by his daughter Shirley, is exclusively about his wartime experiences, plus his brief childhood recollections. He clearly regarded his time as a CO as the most important period of his life. He doesn’t mention his younger brother, Baden, though he was a CO too, serving time in Wormwood Scrubs. The Reinge brothers went on to run a successful housebuilding business in South Bristol. The city record office contains their plans for seven houses in Crowndale Road,

Knowle, four houses in Tennis Road, five in Calcott Road and 16 houses in Callington Road, Brislington. Reinge Bros ceased business at around the end of World War II. Baden ran a tobacconist’s shop at the Three Lamps junction. He lived in Crowndale Road, perhaps in one of the houses his brothers built. He died in 1975. Sidney died in 1978. Sadly, Roland had died in 1970, before Shirley had finished typing his memoir. It’s never been published, but it can be examined in Bristol Record Office, at the Create Centre in Smeaton Road.

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62 Melbury Road BS4 2RP Single storey rear and side extension. Withdrawn 15 Wingfield Road BS3 5EF Single storey rear extension and hip to gable loft conversion with rear dormer. Rooflights. Granted 44 Queens Road, Knowle BS4 2LT Two storey side and single storey rear extension with terrace. First floor flat, 19 Cleeve Road BS4 2JR Rear dormer roof extension to convert one bedroom flat to three bed maisonette. Granted subj. to conditions Windmill Hill ward: Awaiting decision Land at junction of Goolden Street and Bathwell Road,

Knowle, Totterdown, Windmill Hill

Totterdown Details of conditions 7 (Landscape), 10 (Road works) and 11 (Ecology) of 17/06260/F: seven residential units. 7 Bellevue Road, Totterdown BS4 2BG Replace conservatory with single storey rear extension. 11 Holmesdale Road BS3 4QL Single storey rear extension. 137 St John’s Lane BS3 5AE Single storey rear extension to ground floor flat and loft conversion with rear dormer to first floor flat. 2 Windsor Terrace, BS3 4UF Convert basement into 2-bed flat. 1 Cotswold Road North BS3 4NL Alterations and extension to allow change of use from joinery workshop to residential unit.

three storey home to 1-bedroom flat and two storey flat. Granted 12 Haverstock Road BS4 2BZ Replacement single storey wraparound rear extension. Granted subj. to conditions 163 Wells Road, Totterdown BS4 2BU Vehicular access and off-street parking bay, involving engineering operations to front garden. Refused Land to rear of 13-14 Eldon Terrace, Windmill Hill Two 3-bedroom dwellings. Granted subject to conditions 26 Fraser Street BS3 4LY Conversion of single dwelling to two 1-bedroom flats. Refused

Windmill Hill ward: Decided

32 Richmond Street BS3 4TQ Conversion of house into two flats with first floor rear balcony. Granted subj. to conditions

45 St Luke’s Road BS3 4RX Details of conditions 2 (Cycle provision) and 3 (Refuse storage) of 13/00297/F: Conversion of

• The status of these applications may have changed since we went to press. Check for updates at planningonline.bristol.gov.uk

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Sources Unpublished Memoir Roland Reinge, Bristol Record Office NPM/A/98 Men, Women and the Opposition to War: Bristol Independent Labour Party June Hannam, Bristol Radical Pamphleteer No. 31 The Men Who Said No: Conscientious Objectors 19151919. Includes list of all known COs. menwhosaidno.org

GLENVIEW

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November 2018

n WHAT’S ON Monday October 29-Thursday November 1 n Half term spooky sessions Tobacco Factory theatre, North Street. Scary stories, creepy creations and hair-raising hijinks. All-day sessions for 5-7 year olds on October 29 and for 8-11 years on October 30. £35, 10am-3pm. Also in Filwood community centre on November 1 for 7-12s, where Filwood residents pay £15. tobaccofactorytheatres.com Tuesday October 30 n Spooky Stained Glass Workshop Creative Workspace, Queens Road, Withywood. Work with Laura from Colourful Minds to make spooky stained glass window decorations and nightlights. Plus extra activities for little ones. 11am-3pm (drop in). More Halloween and half term activities on the website. creativeworkspacebristol.co.uk Thursday November 1 n Wild Outdoors Club Windmill Hill City Farm, Philip Street, Bedminster. Leave your computer behind and experience gaming themes outdoors around the farm. £10, 10am-12 noon. For 6 to 9 year olds. windmillhillcityfarm.org.uk n White Lion Parade + Agoraphobia + Flowerpot The Thunderbolt, Bath Road, Totterdown. Catch 22 productions present awardwinning Spanish garage rockers Agoraphobia on their first UK visit, while Bristol-based headliners White Lion Parade strive to create easy listening for metal fans. £7, 7.30pm. thethunderbolt.net Friday November 2-Sunday 4 n Princess Charming Tobacco Factory, Spielman theatre, North Street. The new Spielman theatre is the setting for this new play looking at gender stereotypes in a fun, questioning way, for over-7s. n The Borrowers by Mary Norton Thursday November 29-January 20 Tobacco Factory theatre, North Street. THIS Christmas the Factory theatre is turned into a giant adventure playground to tell the story of The Borrowers – tiny people living under the floorboards of a large house in Bristol owned by the giant Human Beans. Adapted by Bea Roberts from the novel by Mary Norton, we see the Borrowers make use of anything and

Stand-up for those who’ve yet to toddle n Review Aftermirth Daytime Comedy Club Zion, Bishopsworth Road RONICALLY, compere Angie Belcher doesn’t have her baby – seven-month-old Ulysses – with her. Other than me, the other comics, and Jess and Tanya who run the place, she’s the only one in the room without one. A group of mums have stormed the comfy sofas, and another cluster sit cross-legged on the floor with their little ones in a play area. Other than that, it’s rows of chairs in the hall, but with plenty of making room for car seats, carriers, and rugs on the floor for

“Some girls like football. Some boys like pink …” £10, 10.30am and 1.30pm. tobaccofactorytheatres.com Friday November 2, 9, 16, 23 n Lunchtime Live St Francis’ Church, Ashton Gate, near the Tobacco Factory. Weekly performances in a variety of genres. November 2 Lute songs; November 9 Middle Eastern music; November 16 Singer-songwriter Teri Bramah; November 23 Dame Clara Butt’s greatest hits; November 30 no event. Tea and coffee. Free entry, collection, 1.10-1.50pm. lunchtimelive.co.uk Friday November 2 n Breathe In, Breathe Out: Children’s workshop Windmill Hill City Farm, Philip Street, Bedminster. Experts from UWE’s ClairCity project show children how to measure everything they find upstairs, from cotton buds to crisp packets, string to Subutteo players. The Borrowers are the original up-cyclers. But their quiet existence is torn apart when the Human Beans return, and young Borrower Arrietty longs to see what life is like for the new family of giants. Tickets from £12 (limited availability). Performances on November 29-December 3 are previews. tobaccofactorytheatres.com

November 2018

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n WHAT’S ON babies to roll about on. There are babies who look only a matter of weeks old, up to 18 months – the age limit for small people. That’s because this is a proper comedy gig, with sweary bits, for grown-ups. It just happens to be on during the day, with babies in tow. There’s everything baby-related here – bottles, breasts, slings, carriers, stand-up jiggling, grizzles and shrieks – and all of it welcome – because everyone understands how it is. There are babies sleeping, feeding, crawling about, looking dumbstruck or intrigued. There is surprisingly little crying – my theory is that the mums (mostly) and smattering of dads in attendance are relaxed, and this rubs off on their offspring. You have to respect the comedians – Swindonian Ed Pownall had some great takes on the air quality in their park or neighbourhood, then brainstorm ideas to improve their air and make posters. Free, but register first. 10am-12 noon. windmillhillcityfarm.org.uk n CSI Kids – Detective Project Workshop Arnos Vale cemetery, Bath Road. Jenny Williams, an ex-police detective, is training up another team of 8-12 year olds in crime scene investigation. It’s an age-appropriate workshop introducing detective skills. It costs £15 and runs from 1-3.30pm at the Anglican chapel. arnosvale.org.uk/events Saturday November 3-Sunday 4 n Cam Valley Arts Trail Villages of Cam Valley, 10 miles south of Bristol, A37 & A39 – Timsbury, High Littleton, Temple Cloud, Clutton, Tunley, Paulton. More than 40 artists showcasing and selling original, handcrafted work in painting, printing, textiles, ceramics, felt, glass, pastel, silver, wood, batik and more. Free taster art workshops and demonstrations. 11am-5pm, free. camvalleyartstrail.co.uk Sunday November 4 n Sunday market Tobacco Factory, North Street. The famous weekly market with around 40 craft and food stalls, focused on local, ethical and fairly traded products. 10am-2.30pm, with kids activities from 11.30am-2pm. tobaccofactory.com/whats-on

Anna Keirle: Coping with a young crowd

this summer’s hot weather; Welsh bilingual Lorna Pritchard addressed the babies directly, with a shared affinity for big foreheads; and headliner Anna Keirle from Cornwall, whose bits on daytime telly – ‘can you say cadaver?’ – were dead funny. It must be a challenge for them though – everyone’s attention is split – between their own babies, how cute everyone’s else’s are, lunch (great value homemade menu from Zion), and the comedy – if you can play this crowd, a rough Friday night gig must be a doddle. Beccy Golding Thursday November 8 n Quiz night Zion, Bishopsworth Road. The infamous Zion quiz will stretch your brains. Teams of up to six, £2 per person, 7-10pm. Over 18s only. zionbristol.co.uk Friday November 9-Saturday 10 n The Dark Tobacco Factory, Spielman theatre, North Street. Award-winning poet Nick Makoha tells the terrifying story of the escape he made with his mother from Idi Amin’s Uganda at the age of four. Tickets from £12 (limited availability), 7.30pm and Saturday matinee 2pm. Nick Makoha presents a poetry masterclass on Saturday at 11am. tobaccofactorytheatres.com Friday November 9 n The story of Bishops Knoll hospital Knowle and Totterdown Local History Society, Redcatch Community Centre, Redcatch Road, Knowle. A talk about the World War I Never Too Old To Disco Love to dance, but don’t know where? Feel the disco beat once more and reconnect with the old tunes you know and love at this fun, relaxed class. Charles Padfield Centre, Victoria Park Baptist Church, Sylvia Avenue, BS3 5DA. Second and fourth Saturday of the month, 10.45-11.45am. £7, no booking!

Find out more from Zoe at: nevertoooldtodisco@gmail.com

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hospital for wounded Australian soldiers in Stoke Bishop, from Professor Chris Stephens. 7.30pm, £1.50 members, £3 visitors. knowleandtotterdownhistory.org.uk

Killer lines and a great curry

adds, “My mother fell on him.” Later in the evening he apologises for his lack of respect to his dear departed dad, and says, “I can remember the very last thing he ever said to me.” Pause. “He looked me straight in the eye and said, ‘We shouldn’t be in this lane, should we?’” Audience collapse. The evening is billed as a how-to guide to permanently dispose of an unwanted relative. Alfie swiftly picks on an unfortunate husband in the audience, and identifies, with the

help of his spouse, some reasons why she might want him dead. Perhaps it’s a good thing Alfie kept straying from the point and injecting anecdotes and one-liners. You could dwell on the ideal way to dispose of body parts for too long. Alfie suggested to the nominally murderous wife that she could contract out the killing. I can’t remember how, but the job ended up with my other half. I should be grateful that she didn’t seem a natural for the job, but she did want £20,000 for it. But that’s the key to Alfie’s success – he’s not just a natural comedian, but he has the audience involved all the time. Even if you’d rather some of them weren’t quite so enthusiastic about the set-up. Hats off to Entertaining Local Knowle, who persuaded Alfie Moore to play this small venue, which works very well for comedy. The inclusion of a fine curry from Knowle chef Sebastien Brochot made it a great evening. Let’s hope there are more. Paul Breeden

or £3 for floorsingers, 7pm. saltcellarfolk.org.uk Sunday November 11 n Robin Ince’s Chaos of Delights Tobacco Factory, Spielman theatre, North Street. The Comedy Box presents the co-star of Radio 4’s The Infinite Monkey Cage. Robin Ince mashes up art and science in a celebration of the human mind from bohemians to Black Holes, Dali to DNA. Ages 16+, £17. tobaccofactorytheatres.com Monday November 12-Saturday 17 n Rocky Shock Horror Tobacco Factory, North Street.

“When small-time boxer Rocky Featherboa is challenged to the fight of his life, the Italian Stallion must risk it all and learn to float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, dance like a rock’n’roll star and sing like a queen!” Another darkly comic, adult show from Wardrobe Theatre, makers of Reservoir Mogs. Tickets from £12 (limited availability), 7.30pm. tobaccofactorytheatres.com Monday November 12 n Aftermirth! Daytime Comedy Club Zion, Bishopsworth Road. Return of

the comedy club for parents and offspring who are too young to understand the swearing (that is, under 18 months). Toys, food, and live comedy, headlined by Sally-Anne Hayward, fresh from supporting Sarah Millican. 12 noon-2.30pm, £8. zionbristol.co.uk Tuesday November 13 n Sisterhood Loco Klub, Temple Meads. “Like The Handmaid’s Tale, but with more hope.” Three women aged 20, 40 and 60 explore the dark heart of patriarchal rule as they veer Continued overleaf

below, casting great shadows onto the curved walls, creating a spooky, Basil Rathbone-esque version of the great detective. And Goodwin is clearly very, very good. There are many quick changes along the way, with quirky Victorian villains played by assuming a hat, a cloak and a new persona – Irish, Welsh, American and more. Goodwin’s very face and stance change at a stroke, with the aid of props including smoking pipes, photographs – and a severed hand to start the show. There is wit and clever wordplay throughout, with emotional range and audience interaction. Goodwin takes on Sherlock Holmes’ unusual ego with

Jonathan Goodwin: An eerie Holmes, if you could hear him

n Review Alfie Moore: Getting Away With Murder Redcatch Community Centre HO BETTER to explain how to plan the perfect murder than a policeman? Anyone who has spent any off-duty time with police officers will know that, like doctors, they often have a bleak sense of humour. Ex-detective sergeant Alfie Moore has made a name for himself with a series on Radio 4 called A Fair Cop. It’s a curious show, popular as much for Alfie’s frank insights (is an unwanted grapple at an office party a sexual assault? Answer: yes, it can be) as for the black humour. Let loose with a live audience, though, and Alfie is more of a comedian, luring the audience into his traps. “My father died of obesity,” he says, as if about to riff on the perils of overeating; then

W n Jah Wobble and the Invaders of the Heart Fiddlers Club, Willway Street, Bedminster. Wobble (pictured) was bass player with Public Image Ltd, the band John Lydon formed after the Sex Pistols. Since leaving PiL in 1983, he’s put out 40-plus albums and is hailed as one of the world’s most influential dub players. 7.30pm, £19.80. fiddlers.co.uk Saturday November 10 n Tez Ilyas & Co Stand Up For The Weekend Comedy Box at the Hen & Chicken Studio, North Street. With trademark cheek, Tez Ilyas presents subversive stand-up – as seen on Mock The Week, Live at the BBC and Channel 4’s The Last Leg. Plus guests. £12, 7.45pm. thecomedybox.co.uk n Saltcellar Folk Club Totterdown Baptist church, entrance off Cemetery Road. Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne is an award-winning young singer who plays melodeon and anglo concertina. Sadly this is the nextto-last show for the Saltcellar, which closes in December due to a lack of volunteers. 7.30pm, £5

D’you mind saying that again, Holmes? n Review The Singular Exploits of Sherlock Holmes Arnos Vale HE ANGLICAN Chapel is a great venue for this show from Don’t Go Into The Cellar! Theatre Company, who bill themselves as “the British Empire’s finest practitioners of theatrical Victoriana in a macabre vein”. Outside in the autumnal darkness, the chapel is floodlit and imposing. Inside, Jonathan Goodwin, who plays the one-man show, is lit from

Alfie Moore: “The other night my wife took me to a murder mystery night. Inadvertently, I framed the wrong suspect.”

a booming, resonating tone. And sadly, here is the problem. The combination of the voice, his rapid enunciation, and the acoustics of the chapel, meant that I couldn’t understand the words I was hearing through the reverberation and the echo, not helped by a rumbling heating system. I’ve been to shows here before and not had this issue, but this combination of

factors didn’t work tonight. It was frustrating and tiring, concentrating so hard to try to catch what was happening. It must have been frustrating for the performer too – there were odd members of the audience who sniggered or guffawed here or there – they clearly had better hearing, but I mostly missed the jokes, or was a beat or three behind. My guess is that this experience was shared by much of the audience, because we were mainly very quiet. I left wishing I could see the show again, because I could tell it was great. I do hope this is something that Arnos can fix. Beccy Golding

Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk

southbristolvoice

November 2018

n WHAT’S ON Continued from Page 35 from a 16th C witch trial to the present day. 7.30pm; tickets free; suggested donation £10. locobristol.com/shows Thursday November 15-Friday 16 n The Underworld Acta theatre, Gladstone Street, Bedminster. In the depths of the Underworld, Hades rules – but can he keep control of his naughty demons and unruly souls? A quirky, fun take on Greek mythology with a bit of Bristol mixed in. Not suitable for young children. 7pm, £3. acta-bristol.com Thursday November 15 n Lewis Creaven and Patrick Farrell Duo Zion, Bishopsworth Road. Lewis on guitar and Patrick on double bass perform tracks from Lewis’s debut album Folkstar and choice covers by artists including Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and John Martyn. Over 18s only, bar. £5, 7.30pm. zionbristol.co.uk Your event could be highlighted like this for just £5. Email sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk Friday November 16 n John Hegley: New & Selected Comedy Box at the Hen & Chicken Studio, North Street. Performance poet John Hegley made his name in the 80s on Channel 4’s Friday & Saturday Live, weaving poetry and stories out of subjects such as vegetables (some jolly, some melancauli). “An incurable entertainer” said the Guardian. £15. 7.15pm. thecomedybox.co.uk Saturday November 17 n Sing and Supper Knowle Methodist Church, Wells Road,

Cartoon vividly brought to life n Review: Madagascar The Musical Bristol Hippodrome T MIGHT sound like an impossible task, but they managed it – making a live stage show out of Madagascar, one of the most popular children’s animations of recent years. Our heroes Alex the lion and Marty the zebra live in New York zoo, until an escape plot by the penguins ends with them washing up on the Indian Ocean shores of Madagascar. From start to finish our children were mesmerised by

Knowle, from 7pm. Organ, piano, singers and audience participation. Collection in aid of Brace, the Alzheimers research charity. Admission free. Tuesday November 20 n Living, Working, Making Together Knowle West Media Centre, Leinster Avenue. An exhibition about bringing art out of city centre galleries and into the community. Find out what happened when five artists took up residence at Filwood Community Centre. Includes KWMC’s annual general meeting for 2018. 6-8pm. kwmc.org.uk n Paul Trevor Martin Parr Foundation, Paintworks, Bath Road. Paul Trevor talks about his arresting close-up street portraits, shot in London between 1977 and 1992. Book signing and discussion, £6/£4, 7pm. Exhibition runs until December 22. martinparrfoundation.org

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November 2018

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n THE CITY PAGE the bright colours, the clever scenery and the imaginative costumes. If it were 15 degrees warmer you would have believed you were actually in Madagascar! Brandon Gale did the king of the jungle justice, with stage presence, rhythm, a great voice and some funny lines. Gloria the Hippo, played by Timmika Ramsay, used her singing talent to belt out some catchy numbers which had the audience tapping their feet in delight. King Julien the ring-tailed lemur was brilliantly played by Jo Parsons. His number I Like to Move It had some of the young audience dancing in their seats. But the star of the show for us Wednesday November 21 n Fatoumata Diawara Fiddlers Club, Willway Street, Bedminster. From Mali, Diawara is noted for her sensuous voice, and appeared in films in France, where she now lives, before composing her own songs on guitar. £19.80, 7.30pm. fiddlers.co.uk Thursday November 22 n From Me to You: Letter Writing Workshop Knowle West Media Centre, Leinster Avenue. In our digital world, can a hand-written letter change a life? For someone feeling isolated through illness, a letter or card could be the connection they need. A free workshop where you can put pen to paper for a friend, family member, or stranger. kwmc.org.uk Saturday November 24 n Winter Fair St Michael And All Angels Church, Vivian Street, Windmill Hill. Festive attractions from 12 noon-2.30pm. n Christmas Fayre Knowle Methodist Church, Wells Road, Knowle. Seasonal stalls in the church hall, 10am-2pm, plus Narnia exhibits in the church. Refreshments. Admission free. n Rhys James & Co Stand Up For The Weekend Hen & Chicken Studio, North Street. Catch him quick before the venues get bigger: Rhys James, known as the funniest man on Twitter, is making his mark on Mock the Week. With Alistair Williams and compere Clint Edwards. £12, 7.45pm. thecomedybox.co.uk Friday November 30 n This is Y0ur Land – A Tribute to Woody Guthrie Zion, Bishopsworth Road. Dave

King of the stage: Alex the lion was the cranky, hypochondriac giraffe Melman, played by Jamie Lee-Morgan. His long neck was a puppet extension, but you could easily forget his voice was actually coming from a metre lower than the character’s face. To an adult, it’s a slightly cheesy, pantomime-style show, perhaps best enjoyed through the eyes of a child. However, this mum thought it was a great night out. Ruth Drury Merrick and Clive Mills use live music, multi-media and spoken word to bring to life the original US protest singer, who influenced Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, and many others. £10/£8, 7.30pm. zion bristol.co.uk Saturday December 1 Christmas Bazaar Totterdown Methodist church, Bushy Park. Santa’s grotto, Christmas gifts, books, toys, bric-a-brac and other stalls. Refreshments, British and Indian lunches. Adults 50p, children free, 10am-2pm.

Regular events n Walking Netball Wednesday 12.30-1.30pm at The Park centre, Daventry Road, Knowle, £4.50; Dance Fit fun fitness class for over 50s £4, Monday 11am-12 noon, Park centre, £4.50, also Wednesday 10.30-11.30am at United Reformed Church, Wick Road, Brislington. Also Dance Variety at The Park centre: learn dances from waltz to Bollywood! Basic steps. No partner needed. Over 50s, £5, Monday 1-2pm. Details from Cressida on 07808 581739 or 0117 939 1672. n Danceblast “Bristol’s most exciting dance school.” Every Saturday and Sunday. Saturday: juniors, 3-4 years 10-11am, 5-6 years 11am-12 noon, 7-9 years 12 noon-1.30pm, 10-11 years 1.30-3pm, 12-13 years 2.154.15pm at St Francis Church Hall, North Street, Southville. Sunday: seniors 14-18 years 1.30-4.30pm, Tobacco Factory studio. Call Anne on 07984 069485. danceblast.co.uk

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