SUIT YOURSELF MAGAZINE ISSUE 35 by SUIT YOURSELF MAGAZINE

Bigger and Brighter It’s been a long time coming but Suit Yourself Magazine is back for Bristol, bigger and brighter than ever!!! 2009 sees SY go under a significant transformation and we are very proud to present the first quarterly issue of Suit Yourself Magazine. This new, fatter format means more articles, more in-depth features, more cartoons, more illustrations and more full page photos, we have worked tirelessly to create an altogether less disposable magazine and one which you can dip and in and out of during the three month period. Suit Yourself Magazine is an independent publication, a voice for all those young at heart, those interested in music, fashion, adventure, the arts, their environment and everything in between. A magazine which investigates, uncovers and promotes everything that makes Bristol such a fun, vibrant and altogether amazing place to live! Those of you who still want your monthly fix of SY, log on to the website and read our monthly, online, sister publication ‘SY - On The Sly’ which is chock-a-block with previews and reviews of all the very best events Bristol has to offer.

It’s an exciting challenge and a thrilling new direction for Suit Yourself Magazine to go in and one we hope you all love as much as we do! The fabulous sections waiting to enlighten you are:

Involve Yourself - think green act keen Treat Yourself - think glamour Hurt Yourself - think about getting active Spoil Yourself - think that you deserve the best Enjoy Yourself - think about ‘avin it Prepare Yourself - think about shakin that ass So get involved! Read away and don’t forget to check out our listings service and our constantly updated blog, all found at: www.suityourselfmagazine.co.uk

Suit Yourself Magazine Issue 35 Editor: Matt Whittle / matt@suityourselfmagazine.co.uk Executive Editor: Faye Penfold / faye@suityourselfmagazine.co.uk Design: James Penfold / penfold@suityourselfmagazine.co.uk Cover: Louisa Christodoulou All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part without the permission of Suit Yourself Magazine. Suit Yourself Magazine is an independent publication distributed throughout Bristol. Advertising Enquiries: faye@suityourselfmagazine.co.uk Contributors for Issue 35: Juanma Arrabe, Ellie Broughton, Kyle Brown, Chloe Dickson, Nick Easton, Richard Entwistle, Anna Freeman, Elena Goodrum, Verity Gough, Richard Hall, James Harper, Harriet Hernando, Morgan Matthews, Hazel McCoubrey, Ian McDonald, Fran McElhone, Kitty Moorsom, Mark Pinder, David Preece, Glenn Vowles, Faye Westrop, Matt Whittle, Lizzie Woodall

3/ Bigger and Brighter. 6/ Making the most of Summer 2009 whatever the weather. 9/ Stomping The Streets – Easton Delights. 13/ SY Competition Time! 14/ Who is Bristol’s ultimate historical figure? 18/ Cartoon Time! 22/ RANT! When a bike is stolen a fairy dies. 25/ How to embrace another soggy summer. 30/ Getting tired of the ‘Credit Crunch’. 33/ Alternative Views of Bristol – photos by Elena Goodrum. 40/ SY Creation Station Separate listings can be found under all the separate section header pages. 42/ Involve Yourself - think green act keen 63/ Treat Yourself - think glamour 83/ Hurt Yourself think about getting active 101/ Spoil Yourself - think that you deserve the best 117/ Enjoy Yourself - think about ‘avin it 141/ Prepare Yourself - think about shakin that ass For those of you pretending to work, you can also read the magazine online at www.suityourselfmagazine.co.uk 5

Making the Most of Summer As we slowly start to ease out of the darkest days of winter, the thought on many people’s minds is; “What shall I do this summer?” For the fortunate, a couple of weeks basking in the south of France’s best sunlight or a road trip down the Californian coast might be a reality, but for those of us who are trying to keep our heads above water during this nasty credit crunch, staying at home is the only option. One of the biggest worries about summer in England is that we won’t see enough sunshine to even be able to distinguish the season, let alone crack out the ice-creams and sun lotion. But if you’re still reeling from 2008’s washout and thoughts of the summer ahead are anything but glamorous, it can still be fun, worthwhile and

memorable. Whether you’re out of pocket or out in the rain, the important thing is to stay positive and make the most of summer – whatever form the summer might take. Summer is a fantastically optimistic, passionate and inspiring time of year. Here are some top quality to ways to enjoy the season: Start that passion project: Everyone seems to have something that they would like to do but just can’t seem to fit it in to their busy schedules; whether it be writing that book that’s been stewing in your head for countless months, learning to play an instrument or

taking an art class, summer is the perfect time to do it in. Feel inspired, enjoy warmer, longer days and make something of the things that you always knew you were good at but never really gave enough time to. Regardless of the weather conditions, you will shine. Challenge yourself: Instead of trudging off to the local pub like every other night the rest of the year, use the impetus of summer to really push yourself and get out there. Encourage yourself and your friends to try new things, visit new places, meet need people. A day out in Weston always sounds a pain to organise but you won’t know how brilliant a day out it will be until you actually motivate yourself to do it! Bristol has got

something exciting happening every weekend during summer – be it festivals at the harbourside or concerts in the parks – and all you have to do it get out there and embrace it! There are literally hundreds of places you can visit in and around Bristol too and summer is often the best time to enjoy them; Jacobs ladder anyone? Cheddar Caves, Westonbirt, Street, Chew Magna Lake, Glastonbury, Avebury! Can’t wait! Bring on the summer!!! Chloe Dickson

When I tell people I live in Easton, the question that instantly appears on their lips is why. Easton is deemed to be on the wrong side of the M32; dangerous, intimidating and rough. True, Easton was once one of the most deprived areas of the South West, but it is also arguably the most culturally diverse. Take a walk down St Marks Road, the gem of the East as I call it, and you will pass a mosque and a church side by side and encounter places and people that will certainly dispel any myths or prejudices. There is literally no other place in the city with a sense of community this strong.

Easton is the street party capital of Europe and so throughout the summer you will find that parallel streets hold their own street parties. Stapleton Road train station too is unlike any other station in Bristol; it has a thriving community garden run by the Eastside Roots workers cooperative and it regularly holds its own plant or jumble sales and mini festivals. Easton is home to one of the amazing Thali CafĂŠ chain. There are a myriad of delicious takeaways in the area but there is nowhere that does good value like the Thali. I recently bought a tiffin which keeps my thali hot till I get home and it costs ÂŁ6 to fill up.

This easily feeds two, which in these credit crunching times of despair, is belly filling relief. Almost next door is the famous Sweet Mart. If you are making a curry from scratch, pop to this shop of delights and you will not be disappointed - they sell everything you could possibly need. Stick a tray of baklawah in your basket too; these sticky sweet Arabic treats taste absolutely heavenly! We could not fail to mention the award winning Cafe Maitreya, easily the best vegetarian restaurant in the South West which has managed to pull people out of Clifton and into Easton, no mean feat and one which they must be rewarded for.

It’s not just the food that draws me into Easton though, the strong sense of community is a breath of fresh air; living so close to each other in terraced houses, it’s impossible to avoid your neighbour. Sometime I feel like I am in a soap opera when I walk down the streets, everyone seems to know everyone and if they don’t, salutations are offered like in days of yore. Easton is, for me, on the right side of the M32. Sure, it may have some problems like any other inner city area but to totally avoid the area is a big mistake. Come and explore! Lizzie Woodall Photos: Juanma Arrabe

Competition! You people of Bristol are a creative, exciting lot right? What we want you to do is take a photograph of yourself holding this very magazine in a funny, famous, exciting place around Bristol â&#x20AC;&#x201C; anything goes. Just impress us or make us laugh! Email your entry along with your name and postal address to competition@suityourselfmagazine.co.uk Deadline for submissions is 30th August. We will judge our favourites from all the entrants and the top 5 will get a whole host of prizes includingâ&#x20AC;Ś Books, CDs, Tickets and lots of other SY goodies! For full terms and conditions visit: www.suityourselfmagazine.co.uk 13

SY On The Sly is our sister publication, sharing exactly the same ideals as Suit Yourself Magazine but it’s a monthly, online review magazine, chock-ablock with previews and reviews of all the amazing events Bristol has to offer. There’s no better place to catch up on every thing you missed of Bristol’s best gigs, art exhibitions, club nights, stage and cinema from a month gone by and at the same time get excited about everything that’s coming up, along with a smattering of Suit Yourself Magazine’s much loved articles and long time favourites like Auntie Harper and Mystic Ginger’s horoscopes. Log on to www.suityourselfmagazine.co.uk now to read this month’s SY On The Sly.

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SY Blog Suit Yourself Magazineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s constantly updated blog, the only place to find every single article from Suit Yourself Magazine, SY On The Sly plus amazing competitions, extra extended editorial, great images, photos and much, much more â&#x20AC;&#x201C; literally everything you would ever need to know about Bristol! Log on now and get browsing! www.suityourselfmagazine .co.uk/blog 21

Rant! Rant! Rant! Dude! Where’s my bike?

The initial feeling when you walk towards an empty bikerack is complete and utter disbelief - did I really leave my bicycle there? Realisation dawns and emotions quickly turn to sadness and depression; I know it’s only a bike but, as anyone who’s ever had anything stolen from them will know, it’s a horrible, horrible experience. In my case, this sadness and the ‘Oh for fuck sake!’ mindset then turns into a deep, dark anger. An intense rage at the thought that someone has been wandering around the city centre with the intention of stealing a bike and you wind yourself up with thoughts of what you would do if you caught them! The final kicker is angry desperation - why MY bike? Having never owned a car, or sadly never even got round to passing my driving test, I am a massive bike rider and when I need to get to somewhere in Bristol, I always pedal there. I love my bike and have had some beauties in the past (a particular favourite being an orange mountain bike with racing tyres) but in my 22

3 years in Bristol I have had 3 bikes stolen and the experience never gets any easier or the anger any less fiery. During the latest episode, after roughly two minutes of me standing staring at the newly vacated bike-rack space, arms tucked behind my head in the classic disbelief stance, I wandered off in a daze, confused and speechless. It was a Saturday afternoon in Broadmead and the walk home up Gloucester Road afterwards was the worst I had felt out of all the 3 thefts. Dragging my feet feeling helplessly, I stared intently at every bike that went past or was locked up, probably looking like a bike snatcher myself but I was in no mood to appreciate the irony. Unfortunately the Police can’t really do anything as the officer was honest enough to say when I rang to report my loss. Bike theft is a massive problem in Bristol and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. To ensure I’m never victim again, I now have 3 locks for my bike which I insist on using every time I stop. People see me locking up and think I’m a weirdo but it works out as one lock for every bike I’ve had stolen so let them stare. Crime Reference Number: 98745 – 08 Illustrations by Ian McDonald at Carving Lines carvinglines@googlemail.com 23

SY’s Soggy Summer Guide Summer is nearly here - the season for ice-cream vans and holding hands, flip-flops and frisbees, sorbets and sunburn, beer gardens and barbeques. But chances are that the summer of 2009 is going to be another complete and utter washout and Vitamin D intake is going to be at an all time low. Therefore, here at SY we’ve helpfully compiled our guide to the best ways for you to enjoy those warm but rainy days and embrace the soggy summer! Put on a wetsuit and pretend it’s sunny. Turn up the heating in your house, don’t consume any liquid at all for 4 days and then run outside into the rain with your head back and mouth wide open; you’ll get a whole new appreciation for precipitation!

Take a ridiculously overeager interest in meteorology and bore all your mates to death about how/why/where rain comes from. If the sun refuses to make himself known, then just take the party inside! Indoor BBQs, indoor camping and indoor picnics are just as fun. Pick up a hobby, anything to pass the time productively; think crafts, knitting, origami, crocét, baking or make a piece of art out of the raindrops; Tony Hart (RIP) wouldn’t have let a little bit of rain spoil his fun! Recreate famous film scenes that were shot in the rain. I’m thinking Spiderman (upside-down kiss), The Matrix: Revolutions (lots of fighting) or The Shawshank Redemption (crawling through a pipe of faeces then collapsing in a river).

Get some of the lads together and head off for a game of football in the mud; aka muddy footy; aka mutty! 25

Indoor games with your friends can be brilliant if you pick a good one. It might sound lame, but ‘Hunt The Thimble’ is a bottomless pit of enjoyment. Or, to spice things up, any game can easily be turned into a drinking/strip orgy. Attempt a Guinness World Record; popular ones include the longest time spent lying in the bath, TV endurance tests or the most number of 5-knuckleshuffles in 24 hours. Don’t let the rain spoil your fun; see it as an adventure and go camping anyway! You’ll come out with a great story at the end of it. Create a mini-water world/amusement park and then send ants down flumes made from toilet rolls. Take up surfing. I am reliably informed that the surf is usually good when it’s raining.

Play ‘The YouTube Game’; basically each of your friends comes up with a random, exciting word then you type them all into YouTube to see what pops out (eg. “midget” + “party”). You’ll be surprised how addictively fun it is!

Creatively funnel the water from the gutter into a more productive system, perhaps using it to power a small water-wheel which in-turn could power a small hi-fi? Try playing some timeless classics like puzzles and jigsaws, or if nothing floats your boat, try inventing your own board game, Blue Peter-styley. Collect as much of the rain water as you can and hoard it in your house, pretending you’re the bad guy out of Quantum of Solace; it’s

“the world’s most precious resource” after all. Race paper boats and twigs down streams like you’re in Winnie The Pooh.

much and don’t reuse plastic bags and send strongly worded letters to China and India’s manufactory industries.

Dare your mates with various rain endurance tests; who can keep their eyes wide open looking up at the rainy sky the longest?

Find yourself a girlfriend/boyfriend and just have sex marathons.

Strap plastic bags to your feet, get a power kite and go skidding in the park. Turn into the ultimate green campaigner; it’s global warming making it rain anyway, isn’t it? Get all preachy with morons who drive too

Take up heavy drinking or extreme drug taking; anything to dull your senses so you don’t even notice it’s raining and go trip out in the park anyway. Go rainbow spotting.

FABULOUS YELLOW TAIL SUMMER GIVE AWAY Fancy some Rosé with your R&B or Shiraz with Pop music? This summer, fun-loving Australian wine, [yellow tail], is launching the [yellow tail] Sample Sessions - treating wine lovers to their favourite wines with music. Visit the [yellow tail] stand at the Bristol Wine & Food Show, 10th-12th July, and you’ll be able to chill out in comfy deckchairs and enjoy a glass of wine with a choice of tunes. REWIND through the mists of time when it was acceptable to have a crush on Bon Jovi or Debbie Harry and perms and mullets were actually fashionable. Music never sounded so good, and the coolest hobby around was making mixtapes. FAST FORWARD to 2009 at the [yellow tail] Sample Sessions stand. Thinking back to some of your favourite mix-tapes made in time gone by, you STOP briefly to wonder which [yellow tail] wine will match UB40’s Red, Red Wine, and dance over to the [yellow tail] Sample Sessions stand to find out! It’s PLAY time and [yellow tail] have come up with eight wine and music matches sure to enhance the enjoyment of your favourite wine. [yellow tail] is offering one lucky reader the chance to win a wine and music pack of their own. For more details on Sample Sessions, and the chance to win [yellow tail] goodies, see www.yellowtailwine.com/uk/samplesessions [yellow tail] wines are widely available at £5.99. TO WIN SIMPLY LOG ONTO WWW.SUITYOURSELFMAGAZINE.CO.UK AND FOLLOW THE LINK FOR COMPETITION

Tired of the Credit Crunch In its early days, the Credit Crunch was fun. We all pointed and laughed at the bankers shuffling out of Canary Wharf with cardboard boxes under their arms; the former masters of the universe now had to contemplate a life without Porsches and caviar on-tap. The Financial Times had lied to them and all was not rosy in the Garden of Eden. We laughed at the people queuing outside Northern Rock even though their money had been guaranteed. The reporter gave a wry smile as he questioned the silly worry-pots who one after the other would exclaim; “I just don’t trust ‘em!” What followed was a gradual period of transition. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly the end of the honeymoon period for the Credit Crunch but one could make a guess that it was when it started to affect actual human beings as opposed to financiers and bankers.

Rolling news channels were among the few who welcomed the recession with open arms as their jobs now consist entirely of listing companies that have gone bust, interviewing bargain hunters/looters outside Woolworths and occasionally asking Alistair Darling, a man whose eyebrows clearly don’t belong to him, what the bloody hell he is doing. They could for all intents and purposes be replaced by teletext and no-one would notice. One thing though is for certain though; monotony is monotony. Even the collapse of global capitalism can begin to wear a bit thin when we are constantly told about nothing else all day, every day. If the gruelling episodes that were the ‘foot and mouth’ crisis and then ‘bird flu’ and ‘swine flu’ revealed anything, it was that the British public are extremely capable of becoming immune to crises. In much the same way

that we are now immune to images of a bomb blast in Baghdad, a factory or business closing down now warrants as much attention as a local farmer losing a goose. As I contemplate this, I can’t help feel a tinge of sympathy for those who had to endure 6 years of war in Europe. Hitler’s uniformed tyranny would no doubt have become tedious during the Second World War; “Oh he’s invaded another country? That’s nice dear, what’s on the wireless?”

Sadly with financial troubles being what they are and newscasters clambering to explain complex economic meltdowns in 10 second, succinct, sound-bite sentences, it seems we’re doomed to be assaulted on all sides by it for the foreseeable future. Richard Hall

While most of us are still in a situation where we can still be light-hearted about our looming destitution, it would be heartless not to recognise many people will be seriously affected by what is happening. That being said, we hardly need another buzz-word to make our hearts jump or trigger a guilt reflex when we hear it, which is every day, several times a day. The ditty alliteration of ‘Credit Crunch’ now instils the same fear as ‘Carbon Footprint’ once did. 31

Alternative Views of Bristol All photographs taken by Elena Goodrum

Suit Yourself Magazine Creation Station We all know how much you lovely people of Bristol like to draw, doodle and design, sketch, scribble and squiggle and so here’s your chance! The page opposite is your ofﬁcial, designated creation station for you to illustrate and imagine to your heart’s content.

your design as a magazine front cover or put it on a T-shirt! You lucky people might even receive the odd prize back to say thanks! It’s an unrestricted, organic competition and we’re completely open to anything and everything you’ve got. Let’s see what you’re made of Bristol!

It’s literally a blank canvas; perhaps create a T-shirt design? Or design a front cover for the magazine? Maybe sketch the faces and places of Bristol? Anything goes.

Post any designs along with your name and contact details to:

If you’re proud of your creation then send it over to us at SY Towers and the best doodles every month will get showcased on our website for the world to see! If we really like it we could even use

Creation Station, Suit Yourself Magazine, 70 Falmouth Road, Bishopston, Bristol, BS7 8PX

INVOLVE YOURSELF Information and musings on the important things in life. The environment, local issues, social responsibility, organic farming, charities and other community issues. To advertise in this section at a reduced rate please contact advertise@suityourselfmagazine.co.uk

43/ SYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Recession Investigation 48/ Are you local? 51/ The Bristol Soup Run Trust 55/ Bristol City Car Club 56/ Smoking Ban! What next? 57/ Casualty moving out of Bristol???? 60/ The GRAB Campaign 42

SY’s Recession Investigation Independent shop owners in Bristol took a mighty hit in late-2008. First, there was the slap around the chops of Cabot Circus opening in town with the supreme and dominating potential to suck away at all their business and then Alistair Darling calmly informed us that the economy was fucked. It’s officially a recession now and SY wanted to see how independent businesses in Bristol were fairing in 2009

in the face of all this hardship or whether they were doing better as shoppers looked around for better prices and the desire to shop inside their local economy. Therefore we have undertaken our hugely unscientific ‘Recession Investigation’ and interviewed a handful of businesses from various retail sectors and various areas of Bristol to see what they had to say. We even slyly got a few words out of a manager at one of Cabot Circus’ new flagship stores to see if they were feeling the heat at all. 43

Scoopaway is an independent health food retailer focusing on wholefoods, organic and no-GM products. Its one store on Gloucester Road has been trading for 17 years but its success has only more recently been realised over the last 5 years as people grow more conscious of the environment, pesticides and additives in foods and body care ranges. Here’s what the owner, Tim Kilburn, had to say: “Despite the Credit Crunch we have enjoyed some growth this year having been able to grow the business 5%. It is not all good news however as most commodities have increased in price too, along with wages and rent bills, all putting more pressure on the bottom line. 44

Something we can’t control is the constantly fluctuating prices of the commodities we sell. Crops and yields are affected by different world wide demands like: rising world populations; greater demand for a more Westernised diet; changing trade patterns (like when the Pakistani government imposed an export duty on all rice to stop the price rising internally); changing climatic conditions; and changing economic conditions (such as the recession and global currency fluctuations). As a food retailer, I’m not sure if we have been affected by the opening of Cabot Circus or the recession too noticeably. I think the recession will make people more selective about which store they

shop at and what they shop for. The likes of Aldi and Lidl have done remarkably well, but then again, Sainsbury’s recently enjoyed its best ever Christmas with sales up 4.5%. Therefore I would suggest that it is not just the so called ‘cheaper stores’ that are doing well, but also the stores which have a different approach to retailing with strong ethics and good management. One of the positive signs of the recession is that we have increased our customer count in the store. We have an established, loyal customer base but this increase, I’m sure, is the result of our very competitive pricing policy, an increase in brand offers in-store and a no compromise approach to the quality of our commodity goods.

I hope people will continue to shop in Scoopaway and support all the independent stores along Gloucester Road; it has a wonderful, characterful range of shops and cafés which need the support of the local community. I also hope people will continue to be mindful of the environment and not compromise their ethics during any economic downturn. I know there may be difficult times ahead for many people including some of our customers and I sympathise, but I also think that we can sometimes highlight the gloomy side of the economy too much when there are success stories out there too.”

However, another independent retailer in Bristol we talked to isn’t faring so well. They wanted to remain anonymous so all we can say is that they have one highstreet store and the business mainly sells personalised luxury items like cards, gifts and books. The shop is a popular one on the high street, having traded for well over 10 years now, but that’s all been put into jeopardy: “Basically Christmas should be our busiest time of the year when we make

most of our annual profits but sales for Christmas 2008 were down by about 35% on Christmas 2007. This is really devastating and unless things turn around and fast, I really don’t think that I’m going to be able to stay open. All I can do is urge people to shop locally and keep the money they do spend circulating in the local economy. Don’t let the worldwide big-wigs take our profits or shops like ours will start disappearing across Bristol!”

Finally, we were able to speak to one of the senior staff at one of Cabot Circus’ new flagship stores. They wished to remain anonymous so all we can say in that the shop is an international retailer. Obviously these are just the observations of one employee and may not be a true reflection of every shop in Cabot Circus but it’s interesting nonetheless: “I can’t go into specific targets but when we opened, the feeling was that sales should be high for the first few months. Cabot Circus has a good catchment area (the South West, Cardiff and Gloucestershire) and opening just before Christmas certainly helped. At the moment these targets are being met

but it is difficult to say what will happen in the rest of 2009. Trading has definitely fallen, which is always the case after Christmas, but by how much it will fall remains to be seen. My immediate feeling is that Cabot Circus is doing well because of the opening impact. People hear of a large shopping centre opening and want to go and visit so we’re in a bit of a honeymoon period. Whether they return remains to be seen! Although we are meeting our targets, there have already been several shop closures around Cabot Circus. I think generally people realise that retail will struggle during the hard financial times and Cabot Circus will not be the only place hit.”

The Benefits of Shopping Locally There are concerns that unless shopping habits change, high streets, small ranks of shops and corner shops will disappear. Popping to the local shop for milk, bread or tea will not be an option for many unless more shoppers change their ways. By supporting local shops we can help slow down and stop this decline and boost the local economy as well as help in the fight against climate change. The Office of Fair Trading has looked at supermarket dominance, referring the matter to the Competition Commission. Small shops are currently struggling to survive due to the purchasing power of the big supermarkets, with thousands of independent shops going out of business each year.

Supermarkets power has become more and more dominant, buying up the abandoned independent shops for themselves and opening the likes of ‘Sainsburys Local and Tesco Metro’ offering the very same products they offer at the supermarkets but at a hoiked up price!! The four biggest already control over three quarters of the grocery market; Tesco alone take 30 per cent and is still moving into neighbourhoods all over the country. Tescos alone took 32p in every pound spent in the UK last year! PLEASE don’t give them any more money! The All Party Parliamentary Small Shops Group warned in 2006 that many independent shops could be gone within a decade unless

action is taken now to curb the power of the biggest supermarkets. Big supermarkets have announced plans to improve their environmental credentials, but shopping locally is still a better option, especially if you leave the car at home and buy locally-sourced food.

The range of benefits from local shops is excellent: greater likelihood of providing local food; they often offer a much more personal service; they keep money circulating in the local area supporting other local businesses; along with street markets they offer affordability without roping you in via special offers and some slashed prices into more expensive purchases (a Friends of the Earth survey in 2003 found that apples were cheaper in greengrocers than supermarkets and in 2005 a study for the New Economics Foundation found that street markets in London were

“substantially cheaper” than supermarkets for fruit and vegetables); they are more energy efficient than huge superstores – as a study by Sheffield Hallam University showed that it would take more than 60 greengrocers to match the carbon dioxide emissions from just one average superstore; and a broad range of local shops provides more choice than one big supermarket. The Competition Commission should enact measures to achieve a healthy balance between the big supermarkets and local shops – but consumers should not wait for such action because it could be too late for many local shops if they do. Glenn Vowles http://vowlesthegreen.blogspot.com

Bristol Soup Run Trust The first thing I notice is the cold, stone slab numbing my bum as I sit and wait for the homeless people to arrive. I have joined a group of seven volunteers as part of The Bristol Soup Run Trust on a chilly winter evening to give out soup, sandwiches, blankets and clothes to those who are sleeping rough. We are gathered outside the Pip n’ Jay Church who, along with Bristol Cyrenians, grew and founded the trust in 1986. I huddle inside my jacket eyeing the 40 or so homeless people that have congregated and I am met with the rugged smile of a man who resembles Aragorn from Lord of The Rings and I soon get involved in dishing out food from the makeshift stall assembled in the boot of a car. They seem grateful to receive the tomato soup and most are happy to engage in banter.

Life on the streets can be lonely, so whilst receiving material items is all well and good, a benevolent smile is like gold dust. The friendliest of the bunch, a heroin addict – not that you’d be able to tell thanks to a sun-kissed complexion and bright eyes – tells me how he attends the soup run regularly after being banned from a day centre. Having started a methadone programme, he is attempting to get his life back on track. He sells the Big Issue to provide him with a source of income and as well as motivating him, the enterprise enables him to gain valuable money management skills and sales techniques. Since the soup run is mobile, it is able to reach out to different areas in Bristol.

After everyone has had something to eat, we drive on to the next drop of the night; the Waterfront. Here, a smaller crowd has assembled, waiting patiently as the icy wind tears through fraying woollen jumpers. Despite the chill, one man has arrived in flip flops. We distribute hats, blankets and other winter necessities and I become engaged in conversation with a charming old man who invites me to read some poems he has composed. One, about the victims of plastic surgery and todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s distorted conceptions of the human body, makes me feel as though I am being privy to the wizened thoughts of an ancient bard. Patrick observes that in his previous job as a tax man, he never had the chance to be creative but now that he is homeless and free from the mind-forged manacles of society, he is able to develop his creative side which many of us repress in mindless, robotic jobs. He reads out a chilling sonnet about rape, inspired by the assaults on two female friends within days of each other and it brings home to me the vulnerability of the homeless.

The Bristol Soup Run Trust is a registered charity and operates every night of the year even now its warm and sunny outside, the work doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stop. If you would like to make a donation or help in what ever way you can, please visit: www.bristolsoupruntrust.org.uk Harriet Hernando

Rape I am a man, proud, tall, yet I stand so ashamed, Ashamed that anyone can take, defile and hurt, That which is so precious and pure for pleasure, Thoughtless, ignorant of pain, the life destroyed. I cannot, dare not bring myself to call you a man, Nor are you animal for they too have laws, morals, Savage, barbarian, creature of the night too good A word to name you: Rapist, thief of all that’s pure. My thoughts, tears are for the one you cruelly used, Stole the beauty, the joy of all that’s good: The love, Which celebrates that special bond twixt two lovers, Leaving pain, anger, hatred, desolation in your wake. One message, one hope I have and offer fair maid, No matter how rough or cruel that attack might be, No one can take; can steal your own special beauty, You are you forever, special ‘cos you’re you: Special! Patrick R. Bristol December 2008

City Car Club Membership Through The (Sun) Roof City Car Club is a relatively new concept. The idea is that the club owns and maintains a fleet of cars across a city which club members all share and can book by the hour, day or for however long they want. The club pays for all tax, insurance, servicing, cleaning and even fuel – members simply pay a joining fee of £50 and then pay-as-you-go around £4.50 an hour depending on car size! The car will be parked in the same designated place for whenever members want it, clean, taxed, serviced and ready for use and all members need to do is book a car online or on the phone, jump in and drive off. City Car Club has a presence in several UK cities but in Bristol the concept has really taken off! Membership here has doubled since the start of 2008 with over 1,000 people now on the books and over 50 cars parked on streets across Bristol, available for rent by the hour. City Car Club allows you to drive a lovely new car that’s just round the corner, saving you money, hassle and the planet! Bonza idea! www.citycarclub.co.uk

Bristol City Council Considers A Farting Ban Having outlawed smoking in public places in July 2007, nearly 2 years on we can now really start to see what effect the ban is having and how, if need be, the law should be adapted. One major problem is that without the dense, toxic fog of cigarette smoke in bars and clubs around Bristol to smother all our senses, other smells are becoming much more prevalent. These smells were always there but are now no longer smothered or disguised and the city’s flatulence problem is becoming a major concern. Because of this, the citizens group ‘Clean Air For All’ is putting together a statement to present to Bristol City Council in an attempt to ban farting in public spaces; “If the ban goes through this will affect and benefit generations to come and make the city a lot healthier.” Research shows that even if someone is a non-farter themselves, spending an evening in a pub surrounded by people with relaxed posteriors would be as if they themselves farted 20 times a day. 56

The policy is only in its early stages but already there have been strong protests from farting support groups; “It’s our public right to guff! It’s part of our culture to go down to the pub with some friends, have a few pints and a good fart. This is an illiberal piece of legislation that denies freedom of choice to thousands of people; the choice to toot loud and proud!” For this reasons letting farting continue in Working Men’s Clubs is still a strong possibility.

Is the world’s longest running medical drama moving on? First aired in 1986, an impressive 682 episodes have been transmitted of Casualty over the last 23 years and it is an award winning, flagship programme of Saturday night BBC television. We can all instantly recognise the theme tune and although the series is set in the fictional city of Holby, we all know its real name is Bristol. Things are not all well in camp Casualty at the moment though, as the latest of the BBC’s big plans of action is to move this much loved Bristol based series over the Severn to Cardiff, creating a huge debate among fans, staff and cast of the series.

The main reason for this move has something to do with BBC’s ambitious new vision of creating; “a radical shift in the whole set up of broadcasting,” according to Jana Bennett, Director, BBC Vision. The ultimate goal of the BBC Trust is to create a more diverse BBC that spreads itself across the country and therefore better represents the people of the nation, as everyone within the UK is involved in funding it. In order to accomplish this target, the BBC Trust has brought in a new decree that at least 50% of BBC will be out of London by 2016. But how does this effect Casualty, as it is already out of London? Well, BBC has planned to create seven ‘centres of excellence’ around the country,

clusters of specific creativity in certain regions. The

If this move is to go ahead, it could affect Bristol in

chosen areas are Glasgow, Cardiff, Belfast, London,

many ways. The many benefits Casualty brings to

Birmingham,

Bristol;

Bristol include a reported ÂŁ24.7 million a year boost to

however, the BBC would like these areas to each have

the South West economy, the programme creates jobs

a particular focus of importance, for example BBC

and training opportunities for local technicians, writers

Bristol will build on its existing Natural History Unit

and actors and it helps attract other broadcasters and

and will continue to be the centre of excellence for

film-makers to the area by helping to put Bristol on the

factual programming whereas Cardiff, currently home

map as a centre of excellence for film and television

to Dr Who and Torchwood, will build upon its drama

production. At the moment, an average episode of

and entertainment and hence the potential move of

Casualty consists of a 10 day shoot, 6 days in the

Casualty to the city.

studio and 4 days on location. These locations are

Salford/Manchester

and

normally Bristol based using iconic locations like the Clifton Suspension Bridge, Thekla, Park Street and even your street or school - we can all remember the excitement of seeing the big, grey casualty food bus parked somewhere and immediately knowing an episode was being filmed â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but with the move to Cardiff, Casualty makers will have to decide whether to make the costly and timely commute across the border or whether to begin morphing Holby city into an entirely different location based in Cardiff, whilst bearing in mind both Dr Who and Torchwood have 58

as Charlie Fairhead, the longest standing character in the programme) points out; “I’ve been a resident of Bristol for the last 22 years and the common feeling within Bristol is that people don’t want Casualty moved, not with any hostility towards where it might land but there’s a notion that Casualty represents the West Country in a lot of its story lines. This is where it’s based. Why go and record the Bristol culture somewhere else? They will lose the roots of the whole thing if it goes.” had to begin commuting across the country to other regions as they have swiftly used up the recognisable locations within Wales.

On the other hand, a move will give Bristol based

As with all important decisions like this, there are

across into Wales, but at what cost? Fears are that

also the financial circumstances to consider and not only will Bristol loose the valuable boost to the local economy but it will cost a substantial amount to build a new set/studio and either relocate or pay the commuting costs for the show’s cast and crew who are all currently Bristol residents and might be reluctant to move, as Derek Thompson (better known

companies an opportunity to extend themselves with the potential move of such a large programme, what ripple affect will it have on BBC Bristol and whether this will be the beginning of the end for BBC Bristol based drama? www.bbc.co.uk/casualty Kyle Brown

Say goodbye to shopping with plastic bags with GRAB The Gloucester Road Alternative Bag Campaign Launched last year, the GRAB campaign aims to make Gloucester Road plastic bag free by encouraging shoppers and shops to use compostable carriers made from potato starch or GRAB’s own re-usable, funky, eco-longlife bag. GRAB campaigner Gaby Solly explains; “We use an incredible 1.5 million plastic bags every week in Bristol and most of these just get thrown away - it’s such a waste of plastic. We wanted to offer shoppers an ethical alternative with a design that highlights the local character of the Gloucester Road.” More than 60 shops on Gloucester Road are now plasticbag free and seven of the UK’s supermarkets (some of which have outlets on Glossy Road) have pledged to cut plastic bag use 50% by this Spring so get on board! www.lovegloucesterroad.org.uk

Green People The Mexican Hammock Company

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The planting event on Wednesday 13th February 2008. If you would like to volunteer to help on the day, then please contact Emma at emma.burley@treesforcities.org or 020 7820 4427

Bio Power

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01286 830312 info@bio-power.co.uk Bio power fuel made from renewal materials used instead of fossil fuels.

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To submit information for this section please email to: involve@suityourselfmagazine.co.uk

TREAT YOURSELF Information and musings on the beautiful, sexy and scrumptious things in life. Fashion, beauty, health and style. To advertise in this section at a reduced rate please contact advertise@suityourselfmagazine.co.uk

64/ Bristol Fashion 67/ Artist Profile: Jade French 71/ Style File: Dutty Shop 74/ Treat Yourself Competition! 75/ Can anyone be a Model? 79/ Recycled Fashion? Rag Trade! 63

Ship-shape and Bristolby Juanma fashion Arrabe Dina Nitzora, 28 Describe Your Style: Lucky Mediterranean Mismatch Favourite Shop: Charity Shops and Primark

Zibi Ambroziak, 29 Describe Your Style: Casual Favourite Shop: H&M

Robson Montero, 27 Describe Your Style: Geek Street Wear Chic Favourite Shop: Topman

John Preston, 21 Describe Your Style: Street Favourite Shop: Cult

Sara Duran, 25 Describe Your Style: Spanish Chic Favourite Shop: Le Boutique

Cristina Sanchez, 25 Describe Your Style: Classic Continental Favourite Shop: Independent Shops and Zara

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Artist Profile...

Jade French Jade French is a local artist who trawls the streets of Bristol with her camera-phone looking for quirky objects and environments that challenge our perceptions of beauty. Most of her work is very upclose shots of things that are not considered of great aesthetic value and usually ignored yet through her lens take on a strange beauty, mystery and appeal. “I am fascinated by the minute detail of rusty, neglected, weathered urban objects; when observed up close and out of context, they reveal surprisingly beautiful, evocative images.” Jade’s recently had exhibitions of her work at Photographique and Tobacco Factory and to find out about her next solo show visit: www.clikpic.com/urbanincidental

Style File: SHOP DUTTY For style-savvy Bristolians who like their clothing with bags of attitude and a side order of chic, look no further than the one and only Shop Dutty… Who? Shop Dutty was set up by designers Louisa Jones and Johanna Rindom, otherwise known as Dutty Girl and Butchi & Gosmos. What? Offers up to the minute clothing that draws on 80s and 90s influences and includes customised vintage clothing, handmade jewellery and original accessories as well as a mixture of labels from other established local designers. “You might find something similar in the high street but you know someone else is going to have it,” says Louisa. “We offer handmade, quality clothing that is unique but affordably chic. Prices range from £12 to £100 for clothing and around £4.50 upwards for jewellery and accessories,” adds Joh.

Why? Following the success of Louisa’s original label, Dutty Girl, based in St Nick’s market, she and Joh decided it was about time they opened up their unique sense of style to a wider market: “We have a belief in what we do and knew that there were more opportunities out there for us. St Nick’s market is great but we needed more space, a shop window and also a base where customers can come in, sit down and we can meet like-minded people,” she says. Where? Shop Dutty can be found on Stokes Croft, next door to The Pipe and Slippers on Cheltenham Road.

Describe your style: “Our clothing is for the independent shopper who already has their own style and are looking for easy to wear items. They tend to mix and match – wearing a bit of vintage, a bit of handmade and a bit of high street to create their own unique look,” says Joh. Plus the girls love to recycle: “We hate to see things go unloved and unused,” adds Louisa. “We take something old, chop it up and make small changes to bring it up to date and make it into spot on fashion.”

What’s next? “We hope to keep pushing the Shop Dutty brand outwards,” enthuses Louisa. “We have an art exhibition every six weeks and of course we are doing more with our Dutty Girl hip-hop nights,” she adds. One thing’s for certain, this is only the beginning for the Shop Dutty empire – so watch this space. www.shopdutty.com Verity Gough Photography by Elena Goodrum

Competition! Leading the way in this season’s trend for statement and chandelier earrings is The Earring Boutique – the UK’s first online shop to specialise in collectable, costume earrings. The Earring Boutique is an online retail outlet selling glamorous and edgy earrings that are made with CRYSTALLIZED™ - Swarovski Elements. Thanks to the lovely people at The Earring Boutique, Suit Yourself Magazine has some super stylish earrings up for grabs! To have a chance of winning these stunning earrings, all you have to do to enter is go to www.suityourselfmagazine.co.uk and follow the competition links. www.theearringboutique.com

Model Behaviour So there are lots of beautiful people in the world whom we adorn with the name of that illustrious Greek God/ Goddess Modellius/ima, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve seen them plastered in the media looking down on us like glossy owls, brooding in their haut couture feathers, but when the lens beckons to them like a glam version of Bill Oddie, how do they manage to look even more beautiful? Is it a gift they were born with or, with a bit of help, can anyone be a model? The answer, presuming we want to emulate these rare creatures, is in the form of a question: What do you want to look like on camera? The main idea to grasp in the world of modelling is that the best look is the prepared look; there are so

many styles, seasons, themes, genres, moods and environments that you must decide on way in advance of committing anything to film. This even applies to some spontaneous snapping of that stomped on disposable camera. You tend to prepare before hand by at least putting the flash on and pointing it in the right direction! There are umpteen industry secrets, even before you go anywhere near airbrushing, which is why a studio shoot

could reveal your inner model and then some… Don’t get yourself in a fiscal fluster though, you don’t need to go pro’ to produce great pics. Your best tools are your imagination and experimentation but beware, 5000 grams of cosmetics and a tidal wave of gel may compromise your masterpiece! Try to feel as comfortable as you can, even if you’re trying something outrageous – likewise don’t go beyond the limits of photography with your first shoot! By taking more and more pictures you won’t become deflated, instead you can learn what kind of pictures suit you best; different lighting conditions

(get a snazzy lamp and work it!), outdoors/ indoors – the poseabilities are endless. Another angle to the perfect picture of your-stunning-self is trying to fashion something meaningful and hopefully a tad ‘arty’. Embracing your personality and image is one thing, looking like an exhibitionist sheep in the headlights of Peter Stringfellow’s shagwagon is definitely a shot too far. Computers can help you here – honestly, plus they won’t be as critical as Tyra Banks on her 10th espresso. Photo-editing programs are usually easy to use and sometimes free and with the right one, you’ll soon be a wizz at making you’re photos the shizz (terrible rhyme…)

One thing that models do have on your untrained poser though is that they are highly adaptable; occasionally ending up a little too much like a mannequin, but mostly displaying a bizarre talent - after all, this is why they get paid $O much! What’s more, you have to remember most models can be very visually arresting, easily drawing people towards them. However, this isn’t necessarily a physical attribute but a well developed means of conveying an attitude of superiority and confidence. This probably explains why we rake in the clothes, the Pret A Manger and drool over the myriad of magazines but you don’t

need to, we are all dazzling and we can all act like models! Seriously if The Rolling Stones can look the latest vogue, it’s as easy as 1, 2...pout! Richard Entwistle

Sustainable Shopaholics? Rag Trade – The Recycle Boutique In the UK on average, we spend £46 billion on clothing every year, yet girls wear just 10% of their wardrobe. This is not slowing our desire for new items but is leading to 900,000 million items being thrown away every year. All those Primark synthetics refuse to rot and sit in landfills around the country. Those who fell out with their too tight jumper dresses aren’t off the hook either - natural fibres release damaging methane as they go to wardrobe heaven. In light of this, how am I to fulfil my shopping addiction without being a selfish wasteful bastard?

Nestling on Upper Maudlin Street (near the hoops of the BRI and just down from Zero Degrees) this ‘recycle boutique’ offers items covering highend high-street to big name designers. Pied A Terre, Marc Jacobs, Prada, Karen Millen and retro great Biba are just some of the names in store. The emphasis is on luxury and labels and anyone donating an item to the shop gets a 50% cut from its sale. Quite handy for offsetting the price of that Tiffany cuff you really, really need - they had one, it was beautiful and very reasonably priced!

In Bristol we are lucky to have a bountiful supply of charity shops, but when your neighbours old knitwear just won’t do it, where do you go? Rag Trade might be the answer.

To further ease your conscience as you shop, it’s worth knowing that any unsold items go to Marie Curie, The Big Issue and Traid. If you didn’t know (like me before writing this) Traid is a charity that use textile recycling

to provide aid by diverting our shopoholic excess away from landfills and into sustainable development. They even have their own label, Traidmade, where donated clothing is reconstructed and redesigned to be sold on as one off, exclusive pieces. If you’re having the guilty horrors about those label still on/might wear it one day/of course I need a TuTu purchases, it’s well worth looking at their website and feeling like a well informed bad person.Whether driven by thrift, ecological awareness or just loving a designer bargain, visit Rag Trade and see if it keeps you out of Topshop for a bit. If rummaging for a bargain and increasing your vintage collection does appeal, it’s also worth looking out for organised clothes swapping events, such as Spare Threads. You can raid the wardrobes of other like minded fashioistas, clear out your draws and go home with a smug glow and someone else’s skirt.

Other places you should try are Repsycho on Gloucester Road: A wide selection of all things retro, covering several decades. Uncle Sams on Park St: Boys Americana, 70’s dresses and unusual earrings (not to mention bargain Eighties vinyl). La Freak Boutique in Montpellier: Offers an eclectic mix of second hand and vintage wear, great for stand out party dresses and fun glamour. Armed with this article you can happily buy yourself a whole new wardrobe, safe in the knowledge you’re saving the planet...or something like that. www.ragtradeboutique.co.uk Morgan Matthews

Beautiful People

Bishopston Trading Company

Naff Clothing

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Born 0117 9420818 Gloucester Rd. Natural, organic and fair trade products in family owned shop.

Billie Jean Clothing

Fushia Hairdressers

Bambabeads

0117 9426586 Cotham Rd south, Kingsdown. 25% discount for students and nurses. Great prices, wonderful service.

0117 9249959 A massive collection of beads from around the world. We run classes also, just give us a call. www.bambabeads.com

Beauty Queen Cosmetics

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0117 9523322 229 - 231 Stapleton Road Whole and retail specialising in afro and euro cosmetics. Open every day.

0117 9428200 224 Cheltenham Rd Bristolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most famous Gert famous T-Shirts.

0117 9445353 208 Cheltenham Road Colourful range of retro clothes. High quality clothes.

Repsyco: Vintage and Retro 85 Gloucester Road. Clothes, Accessories, Furniture and Kitsch.

To submit information for this section please email to: treat@suityourselfmagazine.co.uk

HURT YOURSELF Information and musings on the cool things in life, skating, surfing, baggy pants and die hard sports bods. To advertise in this section at a reduced rate please contact advertise@suityourselfmagazine.co.uk

84/ The Climbing Academy 87/ Hurt Yourself Competition! 89/ Rat Race The Urban Adventure 94/ Yoga! Yoga! Yoga! 98/ Biking through Leigh Woods 83

The Climbing Academy – Indoor Bouldering

The Climbing Academy’s spirit was born a long time ago, amidst frozen blue ice caves deep in the mountains of Northern Italy and is the brainchild of Paul Twomey and Rich Emerson. Finally, after two years of perseverance, this once far off dream is now a reality - in the form of the biggest bouldering cave in the south west! The Academy is located just off the St Phillip’s Causeway (just behind Temple Meads) and was getting its finishing touches when I visited. What surrounded me was a vast climbing surface spreading over 2600 square feet, three and a half meters tall, complete with 240 different routes. But it wasn’t only the sheer size of the place which impressed, through its creatively moulded walls the Academy prides itself on having achieved a more natural climbing surface.

Our city’s new wall has been masterminded and built by climbers, catering for both climbers and nonclimbers of all ages and abilities - don’t be put off if you’ve never tried climbing before or think you don’t have a head for heights as the beauty of bouldering embraces the lack of need for ropes or equipment but is a creative and adventurous way to keep your body strong and healthy.

wifi), showers, treatment room and a large car-park. Eager to do their bit for the environment as well, they aim to be a carbon-neutral company ASAP.

Keen to provide routes for novice climbers and also routes consisting of tiny wrinkles in the surface to keep pinchers of the elite happy, the Academy provides a range of routes colour coded by difficulty, with 40 routes per colour, all of which will be changed regularly to keep you on your toes! Also, just for fun, these routes polka dot their way over various originally named walls including Phat 45, Compound Corner, The Escalator and The Roof of Eternity! The Climbing Academy also prides itself on providing climbers with facilities of the highest standard and in addition to the climbing space, there is a top-quality café (with free

The Climbing Academy would like to thank Bristol Law Firm, Clarke Willmott and Ellis Brigham.

Bristol has been in need of another climbing facility for ages now and I can’t wait to throw some shapes up on the walls of what is a bright, colourful and modern, high-quality bouldering haven - or is that heaven..?!

www.theclimbingacademy.co.uk Fran McElhone

Competition! Thanks to the lovely people at The Climbing Academy, Suit Yourself Magazine has 10 induction courses, worth ÂŁ15, up for grabs! An induction course includes membership to The Climbing Academy and on completion will allow you to use the bouldering centre at any time in the future, unsupervised! All you have to do to enter is go to www.suityourselfmagazine.co.uk and follow the competition links. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be rocking in no time! Woop! www.theclimbingacademy.co.uk

The Bristol Rat Race - Urban Adventure Racing We were all grinning by now. One of our competitors - a strapping 30-something bloke - audaciously pulled his shorts down, enabling the marshall to spread a slick of hot wax on his sweaty butt crack and instantly whip off a strip of damp bum fluff! This constituted just one moment of madness in the 2008 Rat Race series - a genre of adventure racing which uses the urban environment as its showground. Once a year, the Rat Race comes to Bristol – one of

eight British cities that see an annual rat infestation of the most hardcore breeds – and in previous Junes gone by, you may have seen teams of three running, biking or kayaking through the city possibly looking a bit lost, possibly wearing tutus…! But if that sounds a bit tame and not worthy of the term ‘hardcore’, that’s probably because you will have missed out on seeing everything in between and because you’ll have been unaware (until now) of the mammoth distance that these rats have to cover to stay in the game.

The event kicks off at 5pm on the Saturday evening from which time teams have three hours to navigate their way to as many checkpoints scattered around our sprawling city and collect as many points as possible. So in essence it is a half marathon with a map and a hell of a lot else in between! It’s at the checkpoints where the fun really starts as various activities may need to be completed in order to obtain the points. These range from parkour, ballet, gymnastics, swimming, more orienteering, BMXing, climbing, high-ropes courses, kayaking AND SO MUCH MORE! The starter horn intrusively blows again at 7.30am

the following Sunday morning and rats are sent on their way once more. Last year we were sent off on a ‘short’ orienteering run around Brandon Hill before biking the rest of the day. Having pedalled for some way up the Bristol-Bath Railway Path and veered off for some mandatory orienteering in Stoke Park, the route took us up into Bristol’s most northerly suburb, Bradley Stoke, over to Cribbs Causeway and then all the way back down into Ashton Court. We then had to negotiate the Timberland Trail before hurtling back towards the finish line on the waterfront. In between times we had hopped off the bikes and into kayaks

where our navigational exploits were tested on water and been up into the rafters of the Bristo l City football stadium! Did I mention the bungee run, the climbing wall or the Smart Car pushing? At ÂŁ99 per person, this seemingly hefty entrance fee may put you off but for such a knack ering but fantastically fun weekend which ran incredibly smoothly considering its complexity, the experience was well worth the money. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll ever bother with a Half Marathon again!

The Rat Race is an adventure race which demands a sense of humour alongside strong physical and mental stamina (as the distances covered can be anywhere from 60km-80km over the whole weekend) and an adventurous, challenge hungry spirit. Would suit adrenalin junkies and lunatics alike! Want to get ratted? This year the event is being held in Bristol on 27/28 June. www.ratraceadventure.com Fran McElhone

Yoga Yoga Yoga Maybe you’re thinking of svelte young things, doing poses that defy your imagination – and gravity. Maybe you’re thinking of pregnant ladies, down on all fours and huffing like cows. Or maybe you’re thinking of the gym-dodger’s favourite non-exercise. Whatever the word ‘yoga’ means to you, in reality it refers to is one of the six orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy. What we in the West call ‘yoga’ is actually Hatha Yoga, a kind of mental and physical discipline that strengthens the body and calms the brain, getting the body ready for higher meditation. Not all Western teachers refer to yoga’s philosophical background when they take classes, but one thing common to all British young classes are the postures. Students sit, stand and lie down to build core strength by bending, stretching and improving their postures. After the class, you are left feeling taller, stronger and more flexible. Yoga, even at an advanced stage, is a relatively gentle exercise, but at the same done, done right can be the most difficult and challenging exercise you will ever do!.

It doesn’t make you flab conscious, you rarely break a sweat and, if your concentration slips, you can find yourself asleep at the end of the class. Hands up anyone who’s ever dozed off in a cross-training session? The tougher poses require some serious stamina, but yoga teachers never push you beyond what you’re capable of. Let’s face it, it’s hard to drum up much competitive spirit whilst wearing a pair of old leggings.Books and websites about yoga abound, but I’d recommend going to a class: having a teacher means you won’t throw your back out doing the One-Handed Tiger, plus

it’s easier to make a habit out of regular classes. Bristol Uni and UWE both host cheap, good quality yoga classes for students, and there are classes in Henbury, Easton, Clifton, Frenchay and St Pauls for regular folk. Try asking around for recommended classes. Yoga buffs can visit City Yoga Studio in Montpelier and Yogawest Centre in Bishopston to step up their game. Whether you’re perfecting your headstand or just trying out Dog pose, yoga’s the perfect lowstress, high-return exercise for 2009. www.bristolcityyoga.co.uk www.yogawest.co.uk Ellie Broughton Illustrations: Hazel McCoubrey

If you go down to the (Ashton Leigh) woods today... Still a bit cream-crackered from the previous day’s mammoth skate session, our plan was to have a super-chilled bike ride in celebration of the sun and tra-la through Long Ashton - and possibly yonder into the fields and woods edging the Bristol perimeter. It wasn’t long before we spotted a narrow, bumpy lane which led us to a gate guarded by a heard of Friesians. In order to avoid this meaty barricade we were forced into a neighbouring corn field and lug our bikes through knee deep grass. After slinging our bikes and ourselves over a mangled barbed wire fence, a large field took us to the corner of the Ashton Leigh woods and a wondrous down-hill free-ride. Our elation was fast obliterated however by the arduous up-hill climb that followed, to the tune of my lethargic groans.

Once at the top, it was definitely time to spice up what was originally supposed to be just a leisurely, jolly jaunt so we diverted off the main track onto one of several single tracks disappearing off into the wooded undergrowth...We had stumbled across a short n’ sweet bike trail. But the fact that these woods haven’t yet been discovered/developed as bikers’ woods became apparent when thick ferns and bracken had us dragging our bikes once again. My legs soon became laddered with scratches burning with the acid from millions of stinging nettles, my pain prompting an argument to determine whose darn fault this was anyway (definitely his – not mine). But in the true nature of what was turning out to be a very unpredictable exploit, our spirits were lifted on rounding the next corner to another down-hill track!Our afternoon then took a sudden turn for the worse as we

were lured off the main track in search for something a little more adventurous, by the misleading hint of a (bike) trail leading off into the woods. The charms of this slug trail we were now on soon vanished, leaving us in the midst of relatively thick woods â&#x20AC;&#x201C; our bikes now a major hindrance to our escape. But expecting to hit another path any minute, on we trudged. Unfortunately, the vaguest impression that human life had ever passed this way before led no-where and so yet again we found ourselves hauling our bikes over/ under branches across a thick woodland floor. Our situation then became desperate - my blood sugar plummeted, dizziness set in and I became forced to contemplate our impending doom as my husband contemplated what to do with my worsening mood. But there was no way we could be lost in these parts!

Sure enough, after what seemed like months, the bright golden light of day began to shine through the undergrowth wall like angels from a heavenly realm onto our dark land. Finally salvation was upon us â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and after a few more barbed wire/hedge combo hitches, we spilt clumsily out onto a lane which led us out into civilisation and into airwaves filled with trebly RnB, blaring out of the phones belonging to two teenage girls as they trotted past on their ponies â&#x20AC;&#x201C; totally oblivious to our recent plight. Fran McElhone

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First Flight

0117 9428282 10 – 12 Gloucester Road Sites across Bristol www.pemburycycles.co.uk

0117 9731073 Small local company offering a great service with 17 years experience.

Bsb snowboarding

0117 3770613 285 Gloucester Road Highly creative designs for tattoos and piercing 100% clean and excellent aftercare.

68 West street, Old Market, Bristol. BS20BL 0117 9550779 snowboards and everything to do with snowboarding since 1986

Bool’s Bicycles 3 Staple Hill Road, Fishponds, Bristol BS16 5AA 0117 939 2746 www.boolsbicycles.co.uk Repairs,Sell secondhand reconditioned bikes.

Ballooning Network Ltd 0117 9471050 Vauxhall House Coronation Rd, Southville Flights from £99. Champagne ﬂights available.

Holey Skin

The RaceWay 0800 3766111 Avonmouth All groups catered for, large indoor facility. Organisers go free.

Hamburger Hill PaintBall 0800 9803980. Any size group. 7 days, up to 200 people.

To submit information for this section please email to: hurt@suityourselfmagazine.co.uk

SPOIL YOURSELF Information and musings on the decadent, glorious, special and splendid things in life. To advertise in this section at a reduced rate please contact advertise@suityourselfmagazine.co.uk

102/ Bristolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s newest high-end bar: The Living Room 104/ The delightful favourite made better - The Channings 106/ Bake Your Own Bread 111/ Spa-tastic at The Clifton Lido 115/ Spoil Yourself Competition! 101

Although it sounds like the suspicious surroundings where Colonel Mustard might be caught red-handed with the candlestick, but The Living Room is Bristol’s newest injection of glamour. A popular chain of bar/ restaurants that are the pick of the famous in London and Manchester, we decided it was about time we smashed through the glass wall to check out what makes the The Living Room so special. Situated in the new Harbourside development opposite Explore @ Bristol’s Planetarium, The Living Room is opulent and stylish. It hums rather than shouts old school sophistication, is unashamedly decadent and makes me reminiscent of a fabulous bygone and glamorous age, pre-credit crunch and Gordon Brown’s demise. 102

First impressions are everything and the staff here are gracious and attentive; service definitely comes with a smile. We are ushered from the bar with our pre-dinner drinks to survey the monthly menu at our table; glass, candle-light and dark wood are a great combination and the restaurant takes its place right at the very top of the high street with a menu to boot. Culinary influences are broad and interesting with a focus on ‘Home Comforts’ – the much loved gastro pub flavour and an elegant European/global fusion; “dishes set to make an impression, yet simple with fresh ingredients expertly infused with flavours known, loved and trusted.” A mouth-watering prospect no? We started with highland mussels steamed in a white wine and cream sauce (£5.75) which were exceptional, creamy and crisp without being too overbearing, a difficult dish to get right! My dining partner had Portobello mushrooms on toast with Hollandaise sauce (£4.85) which looked and tasted great but once you tucked in, the ascetics were ruined!

Main course was a delight, the 21-day aged fillet steak with mash, grilled tomato and roast Portobello mushroom (£20.95) was cooked perfectly; a juicy, rich and tender piece of meat served with peppercorn and fresh vegetables, perfectly al-dente. I opted for the pan-fried sea bass (£15.95) which was cooked beautifully and served with a French vegetable and chorizo cassoulet. The food at The Living Room is great quality, the decor fabulous, it’s extremely fashionable and is perfectly pitched as a high-end gastro pub; elegant and stylish but not too pompous! I think it’s perfect for Bristol, it’s about time that gap was filled. www.thelivingroom.co.uk

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The Channings During these credit crunching times people look for that extra special something from a pub, no longer content with just a pint on a Friday or the average Saturday lunch on the way back from picking up their nic nacs in Clifton Village. People are demanding more. ‘Rightly so’ we at Suit Yourself Magazine shout, it’s about time people demanded more! Lucky for us the new and lovely managers Gary and Claire at The Channings is one step ahead of the game.

Round, dimly lit tables fill the compact downstairs, close enough to the stage that you can see fear running through the eyes of the anxious comedian as they debut on stage for the very first time, or you may be lucky enough to witness a world class comedian trying their well practised hand at some new material. This is what The Channings can boast that is so unique and sets them above every other comedy venue in the City, they really do get comedy as it happens.

Having undergone a total transformation, The Channings manages to fuse a welcoming comfortable pub with a decedent and opulent wine bar. The attention to detail is obvious right through the wallpaper, the furnishings and the time honoured menu full of British classics. The Channings is committed to great food cooked to perfection, exactly what pub grub should be about.

Laughing out loud not your thing? No worries as the dark evenings of winter are a thing of the past and the spring air starts to fill our lungs, the dreams of sipping wine in the beautiful garden will soon be an every evening activity and if Gary has his way you will get to listen to some of Bristol’s finest Jazz and Blues to chill you out after a long day at work.

Not content at just being known for decent food The Channings is branching out into comedy and music. Topping the bill on Sunday nights, live comedy is the name of the game, and not the comedy we have been served up lately in Bristol’s traditional comedy venues. In The Channings they serve up comedy the way it should be done, reminiscent of the comedy venues that began their days in a romantic New York City in years gone by.

Rumour has it that The Channings Hotel was gifted by Queen Victoria to one of her ladies in waiting, what a fabulous gift! The Channings Hotel stands proud amongst the Clifton skyline as a unique and individual venue in Bristol, if you need a comfortable boutique and friendly bed for the night Channings has several. Lets say goodbye to bland themed pubs once and for all!

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Bake us this day our Daily Bread Baking bread is not just cooking; it’s meditation, exercise and cooking all rolled into…poppy seeds. Or, as Marcus Wells of Bristol’s Breadstore says; “an art which has to be one of the most satisfying things we can do in our kitchens” (reminder: he’s talking about baking). What’s more, it’ll definitely save you money in the long run because the raw materials are cheap and few. The latter of which can not be said of white sliced from the supermarket; just have a look at the ingredients panel. Theoretically, you can make a loaf of good bread with just flour and water. However, this takes patience as you wait for naturally present yeasts to ferment the mixture and incorporate air. So, most people use bakers yeast (dried or fresh) plus elbow grease and a little salt for flavour. It really is as simple as that. From this foundation can come all those wonderful things like malt loaf, sundried tomato & olive bread or the ubiquitous sesame-seed bun.

OK, the 3 hour process might put you off, but it needn’t. Bread making can be spread over an evening so you can enjoy the combination of simple ingredients and go-slow tempo, nestled amongst the daily chores. In fact, it can be taken a step further by slowing all the fermenty bits in the fridge so that all the work can be scheduled for either end of the working day. Mixing and kneading before you go to bed, left in a warm (but not hot) place to prove (double in size), then shaping before you head to work, set aside to rise again and just bake it when you get home. Stick one in the oven 20 minutes before your friends, or prospective tenants come round because, as Marcus says; “nothing can beat the smell of bread as it comes out of the oven”. Anyway, must dash, my production leaven is ready for the prove…(the lingo improves with time). Nick Easton

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Recipe: 600g strong flour (brown or white) 400ml very warm water 1tsp of bakers yeast 1tsp of salt Essentially bread making is always two parts very warm water, and three parts strong bread flour (not simply ‘plain flour’) and for every kilo, you’ll need 1 tsp of salt and 1tsp of bakers yeast. First dissolve the yeast in a little of the water and wait a minute. Then add the flour, salt, the rest of the water and mix. Once it’s fairly thoroughly combined, tip the whole lot onto the worktop.

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Use you fists to knead the dough for 10-15 minutes then stick it back in the bowl (with a tea towel over the top though not touching the dough) to rise for 2 hours, preferably in a warm place. This is called proving the bread! It should now have risen to twice its original size so take it out of the bowl and flatten it out, then shape it into whatever you need/wish. For a loaf shape, make it into a stout sausage and drop it into a loaf tin. Let it ‘prove’ for one hour with the plastic bag over the top, making sure to pre-heat the oven 20 mins before the hour is up. Bake for 35-40mins at 200 or higher if your oven is a bit crap. Tuck in!

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The Clifton Lido Spa, Bar, Restaurant ...Decadent The very last place you would expect to want to spend a cold spring day would be in an outside swimming pool in the centre of Clifton but this was where I was headed; the sun was shining, which was a Brucie Bonus, and I had heard whispers that the water was actually deliciously warm in the fully restored Victorian pool in the heart of Clifton, the Lido.

heat from the kitchen along with any heat from the sun which in-turn heats the pool. Pretty nifty eh? A perfect example of the ever-present synergy here between an old ideal and modern, green engineering. The treatment rooms are quiet and relaxing and the great many treatments on offer are the ideal tonic to a busy life. I personally loved the body scrub, vigorous yet relaxing, but make your own choice from their long list on offer; massages, aromatherapy and wraps of all types are available. The treatments are all mass pampering sessions, an hour to cast away the cares of modern life and to concentrate on the most important thing in the world, you!

A resplendent and sympathetic restoration process has meant that The Clifton Lido has effortlessly achieved the goal to restore and possibly surpass the quality of the lido from the Victorian age; a pool opened for ornamental and medicinal purposes and a place of relaxation and courtship. Terrifying to think that the site was due to be demolished and turned into social housing less than 20 years ago. The masonry work is impeccable both inside and out, with not a penny spared nor in fact wasted. Solar tubes sit on the roof of the restaurant catching all the escaping 111

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I find it impossibly hard to pull myself out of the jacuzzi for lunch, but I am especially glad I do; the restaurant is full at 12.30pm - a great sign! The décor hums Bristol from its core; Bristol Blue Glass is used to decorate the seating and every glass item you care to see in front of you. Sour bread and olives to start with a crisp Italian white wine, rich and creamy panfried Gurnard with capers as a main and deliciously light and fragrant rosewater ice cream to finish. There is nothing I could fault about the food whatsoever. It was simply glorious. The building consists of a heated pool, jacuzzi, treatment rooms, sauna, steam rooms and a top class restaurant and bar. It would be easy to while away an entire day here even if you don’t live close enough to

warrant application for permanent membership - I am a little jealous that I don’t live on its doorstep and get to come every morning before work! But I can content myself with a fair few visits in the year! The Clifton Lido is a rousing success, quietly opulent and hinting of a bygone age; a thoroughly modern approach to building with the masonry and splendour of yesteryear. A delight in architecture and a delight in relaxation, pampering and decadence: The Clifton Lido is truly something Bristol should be proud of especially if the weather stays as gloriously hot as it has become in the last few weeks www.lidobristol.com

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Competition! Fashion is changing. Consumers are now interested to learn about the ethics behind the fashion industry whilst maintaining a stylish and sophisticated look. With this is mind, the DePLOY fashion solution offers wearers a more ethical way of staying stylish, reducing the need for purchasing an entirely new wardrobe each season; their adaptable garments allow the wearer to customise their outfits to suit their individual lifestyles and tastes. Inspired by the glamour and sophistication of the 1930s Atlantic Riviera, the DePLOY Spring/Summer 2009 collection captures a fresh and lucid, energetic, sporting spirit. Translucent layers, geometric pleats and placed stripes in contrasting colours with a relaxed femininity. “My aim is to make the fashion process less wasteful, more sustainable and more interactive with the end-customer,” says Bernice Pan, DePLOY’s Creative Director. Thanks to the lovely people at DePLOY, Suit Yourself Magazine has a fabulous silk dress, worth £225, up for grabs! The ‘Ruth’ mermaid dress in Dupion silk combines the classy and sexy look in a simple yet unique way. To have a chance of winning this stunning dress, all you have to do to enter is go to www.suityourselfmagazine.co.uk and follow the competition links. www.deployworkshop.com

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Glamorous People Conrad at Jamesons

Kitchens

0117 9276565 30 – 32 Upper Maudlin Street. Traditional wonderful food.

0117 9739614 167 Whiteladies Road Superior kitchen utensils and craft

Fresh and Wild

Creme and Chrome

0117 9105930 Clifton Pavilion 85 Queens Road Bristol’s premier organic supermarket.

Amazing Retro Furniture and fabulous gifts St Nic’s Market Market Glass Arcade

SNAP Gallery 0117 3763564 Unique, beautiful artwork by a great cooperative 20 - 21 Lower Park Row

0117 9739570 33 Regent St, Clifton. Ranges of limited manufacture clothing, perfect for any occasion

Rosebud Florists

Allure Fashions

0117 9241460 184 Gloucester Rd Flowers for all occasions and beautiful gifts.

0117 9743882 17 Regent St, Clifton. Beautifully crafted clothing, perfect for glamorous occasions.

The Boutique

To submit information for this section please email to: spoil@suityourselfmagazine.co.uk

ENJOY YOURSELF Information and musings on the fun, musical, visual and entertaining things in life. To advertise in this section at a reduced rate please contact advertise@suityourselfmagazine.co.uk

118/ !Organic Raving! 121/ SY Meets…Mayfest 2009 125/ Bristol’s Music History 129/ DJ Profile: Incite and Breach 131/ Bristol’s Circus School – Circomedia 136/ Clubbing’s Old Friends Returned 117

With ‘nu-rave’ and ‘electro’ having firmly claimed the country’s club scene, raving attire and accessories have had to adapt and now Friday and Saturday nights in Bristol are permanently awash with luminous colours, garish glitter, gleaming glowsticks, metallic leggings and ridiculous sunglasses! But surely such manufactured attire, with all their plastics and synthetic materials, cannot be good for the planet! Have these ravesters forgotten all about their environmental responsibility? It was only the other day that I discovered an answer to this drastic problem: Whilst out ‘Saving The Rave’, I was doing my best to give these nu-ravers a run for their money but after an overeager application of eyelid glitter, I had to rush to the toilet to wash it off and stop myself going blind. Exhausted, I was on the verge of calling a taxi. I rummaged around in my bag

!Organic Raving! Carrots – The Sustainable Glowstick? 118

but pulled out not my mobile phone, but a rather large, aggressive looking carrot! I had put this in my bag as some sort of healthy, mid-day snack and as I looked at my sorry reflection in the mirror, with sunglasses resembling Harry Potter, glitter grubbily dribbling down my forehead, metallic long johns sagging treacherously around my bottom and a large, orange carrot clenched in my fist, ideas started rolling! Revered for their eyesight improving and glow in the dark properties, what better use of this roastable wonder than an all natural glowstick? In a state of victory, I triumphantly held this trophy high and bellowed through the girl’s toilet; “Check the size of my carrot!” I transferred myself and my new glowstick onto the dancefloor and after some initial discerning looks, the nu-ravers couldn’t take their inquisitive little eyes off the thing!However ridiculous it may or may not have looked, that carrot raved the night away until the early hours harder than any luminous

bit of polyester or plastic; it exchanged many hands, prodded many behinds and resisted several hungry ravers until it finally returned to me black, dishevelled and decapitated. We all knew it wouldn’t last forever, every glowstick’s life comes to an end but here lies the differing objective: Your average-joe glowstick will continue to exist forever while the discarding of a mere carrot results in decomposition and the recycling of the Earth’s minerals. Organic glowsticks are the way to win the hearts of vegetarians and ravers alike, united in revolutionising the UK club scene…maybe not, but at least on the walk home you can save yourself the cost of a kebab and take a mighty bite. Kitty Moorsom Illustrations: Hazel McCoubrey

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2009 saw Mayfest hit Bristol for its 6th year and the festival is really getting comfortable in its shoes as Bristol’s showpiece event in the theatre calendar, as festival co-producer Matthew Austin explains; “Every year it feels more like it’s become a festival rather than just a collection of shows. When Mayfest started it was basically a month of work which you’d just watch and not engage with, whereas now it feels that you can come for a few days and really get involved and hang out at the festival. “Last year it was a little bit scary because it was the first time we went across the city but the success of it proved that’s what needed to happen with the festival. We were tempted to change, questioning the need for

a festival at all, thinking we might achieve more if we just organised and put on shows throughout the year but the reason that festivals work are that they allow people to come together and it really gives people that sense of celebration.” 2009’s festival continued to be spread across all of the city’s larger theatre venues but this year notably welcomed back Bristol Old Vic to its ranks where the festival was based along with the Mayfest Market – a space where every theatre company involved was been encouraged to have a stall to promote and show off their work in an open environment to the public, harking back to the days when the building was a fruit-and-veg market!

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As usual, this year’s festival was an exciting mix of local, national and international companies performing some fantastic physical, visual and experimental theatre and while the amount of shows and companies remained the same, each show ran for 3 or 4 nights rather than in the strings of one-off performances that slightly hindered last year’s atmosphere. So for the first time there were shows happening simultaneously in different venues, therefore asking a lot more of the general public and making Mayfest feel much more 122

like a proper festival with all the trimmings; “Last year it felt like we didn’t have all the stuff around the outside to really make it a festival, but this year we’re having a big opening party with music and performances, there’s going to be more workshops, more artists meetings, more post-show discussions, regular blogs and more events and spectacles like the Mayfest Market - we want people to be able to go into the Bristol Old Vic at any time of the day and there’ll be something going on and to see inside.”

2009 saw the biggest Mayfest yet and correspondingly, it was the biggest year for coverage of the festival by Suit Yourself Magazine. For all of our reviews of Mayfest 2009, just follow the links at: www.suityourselfmagazine.co.uk www.mayfestbristol.co.uk Matt Whittle

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Bristol Music History - A cheat sheet Bristol’s music scene is celebrated around the globe, yet most people, even those residing in the city know little about it beyond the likes of Massive Attack, Portishead and Roni Size. We thought we’d give you a quick run down on the history of the local scene… The current chapter of Bristolian music began back in the seventies, when a wave of fiercely

independent post punk bands put Bristol’s underground music scene on the map. These bands proved to be hugely influential to the city, imparting a strong independent ethos that urged others to lead rather than follow when it came to musical ideas. The way in which bands such as the Pop Group combined a mixture of different genres was to set the blueprint for the next thirty years.

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The next major development in the city’s musical history was the rise of the hip-hop scene that surrounded crews such as the Wild Bunch and the 2Bad crew. Here the independent ethos was taken further, with the crews forming their own sound systems which would blare out a bold combination of hip-hop, reggae, soul and punk. This heady mixture of styles helped to lay the foundations for the ‘trip-hop’ scene, which would end up giving Bristol some of its most famous acts. The Dug Out club on Park Row was especially influential to this scene, creating

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an environment in which people from across the social spectrum could come together and share ideas.Jungle has been causing mayhem on the city’s dance floors ever since its emergence from the acid-house scene in the early nineties, with parties such as Ruffnek Ting helping to spread the sound to the masses. DJs such as Dazee, Cridge and Easy Groove all passionately pushed the genre, creating a platform from which the likes of the Full Cycle crew would become international stars.

A history of Bristol’s music scene, however brief, would not be complete without mentioning Smith & Mighty and the local reggae scene from which they and so many others have drawn influence. Combining their love of dub with just about every other genre imaginable, the duo have continually pushed the boundaries of music, often writing tracks that are years, if not decades ahead of their time. They are the unsung heroes of the local scene and deserve just as much respect as any of the city’s more famous acts.

There are obviously thousands of other people and scores of other genres that have helped to make Bristol’s music scene what it is, but hopefully the above provided a small insight into our fantastic city’s musical past.

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DJ Profile Incite and Breach Brought together in a city synonymous with underground music and with a mutual resentment for commercial trends, it was only a matter of time before Incite and Breach would want to change a few things around here. Along with Noisy Boy, they have been responsible for some of Bristol’s biggest drum n’ bass raves of recent years, bringing names like Black Sun Empire, Gridlok, Phace and Calyx to the city. In the words of Incite; “There were no big nights going on that really appealed, so we just did it ourselves,” and Bristol agreed. Dissident nights at Clockwork, Lakota and The Black Swan have always been a packed out affair. But to be fair, the boys began with the right ethos for success as Breach was quick to point out; “Part of the thing was that we wanted to get acts no-one else was booking but who definitely deserved to play.”

Their DIY attitude and tendency towards the darker, heavier side of drum n’ bass has caught the attention of Renegade Hardware, a label the boys have always aspired to. As a result they’ve started receiving bookings from the label for their club nights in Bristol and playing one of the London dates. Along with a headline slot in Dresden courtesy of Danger Movement, things have been looking bigger recently for Incite and Breach. “2009 is going to So what’s what’s next? next?The Theboys boysassure assureme; me; “2009 is going be be bigger andand better than before. There’s to bigger better than before.” And something with local big planned for April so watch Dissident this space.” with media and festivals overlooking lastAnd summer, local media and festivals overlooking Dissident last maybe 2009 could be the year Bristol showed a little summer, maybe be scenes. the year Bristol showed love to one of its2009 mostcould valued a little love to one of its most valued scenes. www.myspace.com/samincite www.myspace.com/samincite www.myspace.com/timbreach www.myspace.com/timbreach Dave Writer Dave Writer 129

Bristol’s Circus School - Circomedia Ever wanted to become a professional acrobat, juggler or mime artist? Fancy practising your aerial or clowning skills? Circomedia, the UK’s largest circus and physical theatre school, is based in Bristol and now offers a two year foundation degree in partnership with Bath Spa University. During this time, students can develop and hone their circus knowledge which includes a range of aerial skills, juggling and acrobatics. But it’s not all clowning around and the two year course is not a walk in the park (at least use a pair of stilts). The course is full time, intensive and very physical and there is certainly no time to snooze at the back of the class because with regular fitness tests to look forward to, you simply would not keep up. Alice Ellerby is a recent recruit to Circomedia. She joined with 25 other students in October and has already begun to focus on her specialist skill; physical theatre and aerial work, in particular, the Corde

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Lisse and static trapeze. This course offered her the perfect opportunity to centre on two of her skills, yet also developing movement techniques and fitness. The tutors want the students to be as well rounded as possible in order for them to find work once they graduate. Alice has always loved the theatre but wasn’t sure how to take it further. Following her degree, she didn’t want to go to drama school with lots of eager youths and after finding out about Circomedia, she realised this was what she wanted. Come 2010, she will have graduated and will have built up the skills needed to perform at festivals like Glastonbury or Croissant Neuf who base their summer festivals on cabaret, music and performance workshops. Alice is hoping to join a physical theatre company or form her own troupe with fellow students. Whatever the future may hold, it’s definitely going to be a hard graft, but rounded off with a whole lot of fun!

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Circus schools with classes for the mere mortals are cropping up all over the place. Anyone with a whim for the big top can wet their whistle with evening classes and short courses. Indeed, training for the circus is breaking into the mainstream and is becoming less isolated. Circomedia offers evening classes in the static trapeze, flying trapeze, the Corde Lisse (strong thighs required) and acrobatics. This is a fantastic opportunity to try what you’ve always dreamt about, or to have that total body work out which definitely beats the boring gym into submission.

Circomedia was founded fifteen years ago and is the progeny of Fooltime, Britain’s first circus school. You have probably noticed the recently reformed St Paul’s Church in Portland Square, but the full time students are based in Kingswood in an old Victorian school. Alice and her fellow students will have finished their first year by the end of June. They will then be going on tour for a month which will culminate in a

performance at the Glastonbury stages along with the regular end of year show at St Paul’s Church, so look out for them this summer! www.circomedia.com Lizzie Woodall

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THE REBIRTH OF COOL For a while there we really thought the Bristol club scene had gone and died on its arse, the outlook was pretty bleak with so many clubs closing and not a glimmer of hope for the future. What were the youth of Bristol going to do? Take up knitting? The phenomenal marches throughout town as a demonstration to stop the closure of Clockwork, Lakota and The Blue Mountain confirmed indisputably that the masses were pissed off, the masses wanted to party and clearly hated the fact that development and yuppie flats were trampling all over their dream!

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Something crippling the rest of the world seemed to have a positive affect on the Bristol club scene… the economy wobbled with Northern Rock, wobbled again, tottered on its Manolos (I have no idea what the male banker wears on his foot, Italian leather, lined with minx and the souls of a million cash poor hard working mortals) and finally crashed through the arse end of civilisation leaving us right up shits creak! Bastards……… Well we’re alright jack! No money in property, ok so Stokes Croft has been given a stay of execution at least for a year, Lakota wont be flats… brilliant!

But it doesn’t stop there a whole bucket load of new venues have opened their doors for our entertainment pleasure, Bristol once again is brimming with dance venues simply gagging for your cold hard cash (and disco pleasure of course!) Here’s a wee round up:

LAB

//opposite The Grand Hotel Needs no introduction, ARC Bar to any old timers out there has been given a face lift. It’s the fabulous people behind the original Clockwork Club, these boys are Bristol’s elite and know how to throw a party (or 7 – whilst everyone else has a wobble over the summer these boys still pack it out every night) Music policy not too strict – ‘Anything cool’ seems to slot in quite nicely

BASEMENT 45

//under Park Street Another club brought to you from a member of Bristol’s clubbing elite, renown for Chicago amongst other popular club nights and who effortlessly brought you Bijou. Fridays will be run by independent promoters and cover everything from Drum n’ Bass, Dubstep,breaks,funk, disco....basically everything! and Saturdays will be run by themselves - house,electro,breaks and generally dance orientated.

CHESTERS

//Next door to Basement 45 Proper underground venue, loud and full on as you can possibly imagine, this is a free party venue and the music reflects this. Attitude free, very friendly. Free party music, anything goes, insanely loud sound system. 137

DAY AND NIGHT

//St Nicholas Street Brand spanking new and hot off the press, laid back skater chic with a music policy to match, lots of Cut and Paste, edgy but not agro D&B, Phat beats and an interior which manages to be smart but informal, pretty cool is the verdict so far. (I am reliably informed by my arts correspondent that this is where the sexy boys hang out!) – Must be off now!

COMING SOON…………….

CANVAS

Top secret city centre club with a huge capacity and some amazing promoters simply gagging to fill it’s weekend slots…. This is going to be a biggy! Katy Smith

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PREPARE YOURSELF Armed and dangerous, ready for action, we bring you the safety of knowing whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going on in this cool city. To advertise in this section at a reduced rate please contact advertise@suityourselfmagazine.co.uk

143/ Auntie Harper fields your questions 144/ Mystic Gingerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Horoscopes 146/ Summer 2009 Festival Previews

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Auntie Harper

He’ll diss you to your face

It’s my missus’ birthday soon, what the hell am I suppose to get her? I’m skint! How about a 1 hour private session with your favourite agony aunt? I’ll offer a special discount rate of £20 per hour and seeing as your a 1st timer, I’ll even throw in a complementary bottle of Lambrini and box of Quality Street for her to take away a souvenir.

I’ve just lost my job, but needed a change anyway. Is it lucrative being an Agony Aunt? I’m sorry mate, there be only room for one Agony Aunt in the town of Bristol; however I’ve heard Swindon are looking for a new one. Surprising how much free stuff you

get when you are an agony aunt. Girls throw themselves at me in the street, which comes in handy as you can probably imagine. I take full advantage of the opportunity by stealing their wallet and phone as they grope me.

I think I’m in love with this guy who gets the same bus as me every morning. How do I get him to notice me??? Help me Harper! Just walk up to him, throw yourself at him with your boobs out and offer to ring his bell, I’m sure it’ll get you noticed by him and the rest of the bus as well. You never know, you might end up with a shag over the Wayfarer at one of the fare stages!

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Gemini - With decadent Venus in your chart, it’s time to pamper yourself. Take the radio right into the bath with you. Lovely. Your lucky full-body shock: yes. Cancer - With that old rogue Mercury rising behind you, be cautious – don’t bend down for the soap. Your lucky old person: the one in the woolly hat, from the corner shop. Leo - Let your intuition be your guide this summer. Mystic sees it manifesting in the form of a homeless person with crazy eyes and a magic potion. Let it be your guide. Drink its potion. Virgo - You may find that you are really feeling the pinch this summer, but you don’t have to let the lobster sleep in with you. You are way too soft – Mr Red-Legs will be fine in the bath. Libra - With Mars coming into your chart you may feel that people don’t think about you, but they do. The hairy man next door thinks about you all the time. Smile for the camera. Scorpio - This summer, concentrate on getting things achieved in the short term, like getting that bit of jam out of your hair. That’s been there since Christmas.

Sagittarius - You may feel overwhelmed by the thought of change this summer. Mystic advises that you do things in your own time. Turn your pants inside out first, and change them when you are ready. Capricorn - With clear-eyed Saturn in your chart, you may have noticed that most people are just better than you, in every way. Deal with it – jealousy is such an ugly word. So is ‘flange.’ Aquarius - You may feel as though someone close to you is preventing you from reaching one of your goals, but try not to force their hand. That’s illegal – no means no. Pisces - Raise your sights a little in the workplace this summer. It is rude to stare at people’s boobs. I know, they draw the eye but people are beginning to hate you. Aries - With hot-headed Jupiter rising in your chart, be careful not to burn bridges. Bridges are damp, they take ages to catch. Try burning a petrol station if you want to impress. Taurus - Don’t let doubts continue to hold you back fish breathe underwater all the time, so why shouldn’t you? Your lucky faux pas: Asking fat women if they’re pregnant.

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Bristol Vegan Fayre

Download

30th – 31st May @ The Amphitheatre, Bristol £10 day

12th – 14th June @ Donington Park, Leicestershire £135 weekend

The Bloc heads and Zion Train

Marilyn Manson, Faith No More, Slipknot

If vegan is your thing then head down to the heart of Bristol for the largest vegan event found anywhere in the world – and if you’re not, there’s still plenty of top reggae, jazz and ska on offer along with more stalls, workshops, talks, demos and circus acts than you can shake a cabbage at.

Download is the UK’s premier rock festival, a 5-day mammoth rock event hosted in the spiritual home of rock – Donington Park. Now in its 7th year, there is nowhere better to see new and old rock and metal legends together for one weekend across 3 monsterous stages.

www.bristol.veganfayre.co.uk

www.downloadfestival.co.uk

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Beach Break Live 16th – 19th June @ Polzeath, Cornwall £84 week Dizzee Rascal, The Zutons, Mystery Jets June sees school out so head down to Cornwall to join 10,000 students for the UK’s very own Spring Break! Celebrate the end of exams with sand and surf while the sun’s up and brill bands and DJs when the sun’s down. Added extras like the masquerade ball, the Cornish Goblet games and the world’s biggest pyjama party ensure this is one festival you won’t forget. www.beachbreaklive.com

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Sónar 18th – 20th June @ Barcelona, Spain £125 weekend Grace Jones, Orbital, Late Of The Pier Now in its 16th year, Barcelona’s International Festival of Advanced Music and Multimedia Art is 3-days of cutting edge music and art set right in the heart of this great city. Expand and blow your mind by day, party party party by night. www.sonar.es

Winterwell Festival

Glastonbury

19th – 21st June @ Secret Location, Gloucestershire £85 weekend

24th – 28th June @ Worthy Farm, Somerset £175 weekend

Norman Jay, Smerins Anti-Social Club, Slow Club

Franz Ferdinand, Bruce Springsteen, Blur

Winterwell sprung from a simple goal of crafting a great independent boutique festival in a beautiful location for like-minded people. Small, unspoilt, wholesome fun! The wonderful atmosphere is key and this is stoked with entertainment like world record attempts, midnight lantern launches, the Winterwell Olympic Games and fancy dress on Saturday judged by Norman Jay himself!

Everyone has to experience Glastonbury Festival at least once in their lifetime, it is the benchmark against which all other music festivals around the globe mark themselves and now in its 39th year, it is still daisies and dreadlocks above anything else out there – let’s just hope this year’s is sunny! www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk

www.winterwell.co.uk

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Exit 9th – 12th July @ Petrovaradin Fortress, Novi Sad, Northern Serbia £72 weekend Andy C, Arctic Monkeys, Moby Launched 10 years ago as a student protest against the Milosevic regime, Exit has proved that music is the universal language to unite the world and has grown into one of the most highly regarded festivals in Europe. Set in a unique 18th century fortress, 25 stages hosting a renowned, diverse line-up are connected by cobbled streets, ramparts and tunnels. Wizard!

Cornbury Festival 11th – 12th July @ Cornbury Park, Oxfordshire £110 weekend The Sugarbabes, Scouting For Girls, The Pretenders This beautiful boutique festival returns in its stunning Cotswolds location for a 6th year; expect hot air balloons, fantastic food, morris dancers, children’s theatre, workshops, a huge fairground and a farmers’ market with a dancefloor (!) all held together by an eclectic musical tradition and a ‘something for everybody’ approach. www.cornburyfestival.com

www.exitfest.org

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Larmer Tree Festival 15th – 19th July @ Larmer Tree Gardens, Salisbury £177 week Jools Holland, Dreadzone, Richard Thompson Set in a beautiful Victorian pleasure garden with forest, hidden statues and peacocks as standard, this festival is all about world foods and world music. It also retains its independent vibe by having no large sponsors and they preserve their intimate atmosphere with limited ticket sales.

Festival Internacional de Benicàssim 16th – 19th July @ Benicàssim, Eastern Spain £155 weekend Oasis, The Killers, Kings of Leon Set on the sunny Spanish coast near Valencia, this 4 day festival is hailed as the ultimate summer party and one of the very the best festival in Europe. Spend the days basking on the golden beach under guaranteed sunshine and dance through the night to 8am to the world’s best indie/rock. www.fiberfib.com

www.larmertreefestival.co.uk

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Latitude 16th – 19th July @ Henham Park, Suffolk £130 weekend Pet Shop Boys, Grace Jones, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Now in its fourth year, Latitude continues to inspire and innovate; bringing together the world’s very best music, film, comedy, cabaret, dance, poetry, literature and art along with some very special theatre for a funfilled, calming, cultural adventure by the sea. www.latitudefestival.co.uk

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Glade 16th – 19th July @ Matterley Bowl, Wincheter £125 weekend Underworld, Juan Atkins, Booka Shade Winner of 2008’s Best Dance Festival, Glade 2009 promises to big louder, later and longer. Formed 5 years ago by the people behind The Glade at Glastonbury, this festival focuses on cutting edge electro-dance music playing all range of breaks, heavy drum’n’bass and real chill-out. www.gladefestival.com

2000trees 17th – 18th July @ Upcote Farm, Cheltenham £47 weekend British Sea Power, Fightstar, The King Blues This is how festivals should be done – reasonably priced, a manageable size (only 2,000 people compared to Glasto’s 200,000), strong ethics, a raft of brilliant bands, hosted in stunning countryside and all very, very green (last year they recycled 78% of the festival’s entire waste) – staggering stuff! www.twothousandtreesfestival.co.uk

T4 On The Beach 19th July @ Weston-super-Mare £35 day The Saturdays, Dizzee Rascal, Calvin Harris This annual event is always a fantastic day out on the beach of Weston-super-Mare and this year should be no exception. There’s over 25 brilliant bands playing live, games and Channel 4 always have plenty of surprises for you up their sleeves. www.channel4.com/t4onthebeach

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Global Gathering

Camp Bestival

24th – 25th July @ Long Marston Airfield, Warwickshire £115 weekend

PJ Harvey, Mercury Rev, Roots Manuva

Prodigy, Orbital, Pendulum Expect some heavy beats and high energy hooks at this year’s Global Gathering as 55,000 people congregate for a 2-day, non-stop electronic music weekender that brings together the world’s greatest live and DJ talent playing the very best house, trance, leftfield and breaks. www.globalgathering.co.uk

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24th – 26th July @ Lulworth Castle, Dorset £130 weekend

Rob da Bank (the DJ who established the first Bestival 6 years ago) created Camp Bestival last year to try and retain that intimate festival vibe. 2008 worked so well that 2009 is back with bells on, packed with top bands, top DJs and top comedy and enough elbow room to get down to some top boogeying! www.campbestival.net

WOMAD 24th – 26th July @ Charlton Park, Wiltshire £122 weekend Fat Freddy’s Drop, Soloman Burke, Ethiopiques Now in its 27th year, WOMAD (World of Music, Arts and Dance) aims to bring together art forms from all the countries and cultures of the world. The WOMAD experience is all about the discovery and enjoyment of the unknown and unexpected - it’s a magical, musical melting pot, enriching all who experience it. www.womad.org

Bristol Harbour Festival 31st July – 2nd August @ Harbourside, Bristol FREE This city centre festival is now a barometer of the South West’s buzzing music, circus, dance and art scene. 2008 saw a quarter of a million people descend onto the harbourside to enjoy all sorts of home grown entertainment along with a fantastic array of ships and, of course, the best firework display you could ever hope to ogle! www.bristolharbourfestival.co.uk

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Bristol International Balloon Fiesta 6th – 9th August @ Ashton Court Estate, Bristol FREE Bristol’s Balloon Festival has become a cultural jewel in the crown of the South West, bringing people flocking from the far reaches of the globe. Starting with the Night Glow and firework display on Thursday and with a Red Arrows display on Saturday, the weekend will be brought to life with regular hot air balloon flights over Bristol. www.bristolfiesta.co.uk

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The Big Chill 7th – 9th August @ Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire £145 weekend Orbital, Basement Jaxx, Norman Jay Having made its name in the mid-‘90s as an ambient event to chillax to the max, The Big Chill is now a regular fixture of the English summer and provides a diverse range of music and entertainment. 15 years on and they still haven’t lost sight of their ideals – it’s all about energy, community and fun! www.bigchill.net

Boomtown Fair 7th – 9th August @ Secret Location, near Bristol £60 weekend Babyhead, Chaz and Dave, Babylon Circus Formerly known as Recydrate The West, this fantastic festival is purely about celebrating all things Somerset! Expect fantastic local bands, local produce stalls, summer fete-style games and lots and lots of free flowing cider and scrumpy! Gurt lush! www.boomtownfair.co.uk

Bloom 14th – 16th August @ West Littleton Down, South Gloucestershire £75 weekend Noah & The Promotions.

Whale,

Dub

Pistols,

Just

Jack

Nominated as Best New UK Festival in 2006, this 3-day independent event sees several arenas pumping out music in a plethora of genres as well as cabaret, comedy, stunning live visuals, fire shows, instillations, live art, Bloom bingo, circus acts, Bloom vegetable patch, beat jigsaw and a digital funfair?! Woop! www.bloomfestival.com

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Croissant Neuf 14th – 16th August @ Usk, South Wales £80 weekend Steve Knightly, Yes Sir Boss, The Hit-Ups Growing from a small skiffle band that did the rounds at local folk festivals, Croissant Neuf is now a fully fledged family festival packed with music and circus and boasts using all local and organic produce and is powered just by the sun! www.partyneuf.co.uk

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Green Man Festival 21st – 23rd August @ Glanusk Park, Wales £105 weekend Wilco, Bon Iver, British Sea Power Set deep in the heart of the Brecon Beacons, this (predominantly folk) festival offers a unique weekend of music, dancing, film, comedy, art and literature set in a landscape that is only open to the public for these few days a year. It’s a must to enjoy the music, magic and sense of escape. www.thegreenmanfestival.co.uk

Shambala 27th – 30th August @ Secret Location, Northamptonshire £99 weekend Shambala have endeavoured to cultivate a freespirited, warm, friendly, low-profile and ethical festival with a down-to-earth mix of creativity. The festival is completely independent from advertising and sponsorship and having never promoted it, Shambala’s excellent reputation has grown through word of mouth alone. www.shambalafestival.org

Creamfields 29th – 30th August @ Daresbury, Cheshire £115 weekend Basement Jaxx, Paul Van Dyk, Dizzee Rascal Since it began life in 1998, Creamfields has now established itself as the biggest and best dance festival in not just the UK, but the entire world! It’s action packed, lively and the only place to truly paaaarty this summer!!! www.creamfields.com

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Bestival

Waveform

11th – 13th September @ Robin Hill Country Park, Isle of Wight

11th – 13th September @ Liddington Warren Farm, Wiltshire £75 weekend

£140 weekend Massive Attack, Kraftwerk, Klaxons 2009’s Bestival is hailed as ‘The Year of the Spectacluar!’ and as ever, Rob da Bank has been working his socks off to put on a cornucopia of fantastic acts, across 14 fantastic stages at this fantastic festival. The dress code in Outer Space so let’s get cosmic! www.bestival.net

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Waveform returns with its 2 live stages and 3 dance tents all playing the best banging dance/trance music around. Last year Waveform won the UK’s greenest festival award so look out for the solar and wind powered green village with saunas, hot-tubs, solar showers, spa and composting toilets! www.waveformfestival.com

Bristol Festival 19th – 20th September @ Canon’s Marsh Amphitheatre, Bristol £5 day Bristol Festival is a city centre based community festival celebrating Southwest music, art, theatre and circus talent. During the day it’s Brizzolfest with 2 stages next to the harbour and during the night it’s Rave-on-Avon, a multi-club linkup to dance ‘til sunrise. www.thebristolfestival.org

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