Shipshape 13 - Spring 2013

shipshape free

a guide to bristol in spring

arts / events / history / city map / dining / people SS.13-Cover.indd 1

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hairdressing 50 Park Row, Bristol, BS1 5LH Tel: 0117 929 1635 www.hobbs-style.co.uk For online booking visit our website hobbshairdressing

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spring 08 22 Shipshape #13 Spring 2013 Published by thegroupofseven.co.uk Enquiries: info@shipshapebristol.co.uk Past issues & galleries: shipshapebristol.co.uk Advertising: steve@shipshapebristol.co.uk Disclaimer The information contained in this publication is provided as a general guide only.

While every care is taken to ensure that the details are as accurate as possible, we make no warranty or representation, express or implied, about the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in this publication. The views or opinions expressed in this damage or loss, howsoever caused, arising directly or indirectly from reliance upon any information obtained from this publication. © The Group of Seven Ltd 2013

33 Imagine a Bristol where trains pull into a station at Queen Square. One in which the city has a working tram system or even a major indoor arena. We take a look at the monuments, buildings and infrastructure projects that could have changed the face of our city as we know it, but never saw the light of day.

Read more on page 26. Also inside, we take a detailed look at Bristol Harbour Railway’s wonderful rolling stock (page 4), speak to the folks behind Bristol’s Ferryboats (page 33) and learn all about Clifton Rocks Railway (page 26). Turn to our new Dining section (page 40) for great suggestions on where to eat out and plan your cultural season ahead with Tickets (page 6).

Shot! 04 Bristol Harbour Railway’s rolling stock

The Family Way 30 Child-friendly things to see and do

Tickets 06 Music, comedy, art and events

The Great Escape 33 How the Ferryboats stayed afloat

Details 10 People, performers and points of view

Unbuilt Bristol 34 Projects that never made it to fruition

City map 24 Ways to navigate the Habourside and beyond

Wild things 39 Ed Drewitt’s wildlife-spotting tips

Clifton Rocks Railway 26 Fascinating facts about the city’s funicular railway

Eating & drinking 40 Places to eat and drink Last word 46 Glassboat’s Pete Singer

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! t o sh artin David M tol r e g a n ns ma out Bris Operatio Shipshape ab g stock, talks to Railway’s rollin dmired) r a Harbou be seen (and t n a a s which c long the track a Wharf Princes

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1. This sulphuric acid tank wagon was built in 1940. It shuttled between Avonmouth and the Puriton munitions works. We bought the wagon in 1990. It doesn’t contain sulphuric acid any more, although some of the other wagons are used to store spares – pieces of trucks and that sort of thing.

2. This is a former LMS goods brake van that was acquired by the Port of Bristol for its internal system. It came to us in 1982 and was transferred by rail. We have about 21 trucks in total in the collection and have stopped collecting now.

Some say we have too many, but I can’t imagine why.

3. Built in 1939, this is a former GWR brake van that’s now used in the passenger train on our public trips. It provided accommodation for the guard who could operate the brakes to help stop the train. The trucks in the collection are representative of the types of wagons you’d have seen on the railway 50 years ago.

4. This is a former GWR ballast wagon that would have been used to carry stone or excavated spoil. It has been restored with the sign written to pre-British Rail condition.

All these trucks form part of M Shed’s moving exhibits.

5. The base is a Conflat wagon built to carry the first generation of containers on the railway. It was built in 1959 and arrived with us on 17 March 1987. The steel top is an adaptation that’s been built to carry passengers on our public trips. The trucks on display get swapped around all the time – there are five more kept at the other end of the track.

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tickets Arts, culture and family trips around the city

arnolfini

At-bristol

bristol aquarium

Version Control to 14.04.13 Exhibition exploring the history of performance art via works and objects from different media that ‘perform’.

Brilliant Brain Week 11.03.13-15.03.13 A week of activities devoted to the brain in all its glory. Meet neuroscientists from local universities, see a real human brain, take part in some fun experiments to learn about what your brain’s made of and how it works, and more.

Bristol Aquarium takes visitors on a spectacular underwater journey of discovery around the world; from UK waters to tropical rainforests and coral reefs. Book online to save up to £2 per person.

Contemporary arts centre

Don Celender: Surveyed 20.04.13-28.04.13 First European solo exhibition for this US conceptual artist (1931-2005), who surveyed specific groups about life, work, art and often, ultimately, death.

4Days 25.04.13-28.04.13 Four days of live works and installation.

Includes some dockside tours continuing the ‘4 Days’ topics of congregation, movement, participation and duration.

Jutta Koether: Seasons and Sacraments 03.05.13-07.07.13 Recent works by this acclaimed painter, who also delves into performance, music and text.

Susanne Kriemann: Construction School 03.05.13-07.07.13 Artist examines the history of the Construction School (1964-1979), part of the West of England College of Art and Design (now UWE).

Science discovery centre

After Hours: CSI Harbourside 11.04.13 At-Bristol is transformed into a crime scene in the third of its adult evenings, with evidence to gather, suspects to interview and CCTV footage to analyse.

Explore Your Universe from 11.05.13 Family show bringing to life the latest scientific discoveries, from atoms to astrophysics.

Marine life in all its splendour

Shipwreck Cove Explore the dazzling variety of life around our shores in this stunning shipwreck display home to British sharks, gigantic spider crabs and shoals of silvery fish.

Bay of Rays The ramped walkway leads you among the rocky bays of a typical Mediterranean coastline; home to a variety of ray species, alongside brightly-coloured wrasses, flatfish and giant crustaceans.

Coral Seas Within crystal-clear tropical waters the coral seas display is the centrepiece of the aquarium and home to hundreds of exotic reef fish including leopard sharks. Enjoy amazing views into this bustling world beneath the waves via giant viewing windows and a spectacular walkthrough tunnel.

16 Narrow Quay, bs1 4QA 0117 917 2300

Anchor Road, bs1 5db 0845 345 1235

Anchor Rd, BS1 5TT 0117 909 2000

arnolfini.org.uk

at-bristol.org.uk

bristolaquarium.co.uk

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tickets

bristol’s ferryboats

Scheduled ferry services and trips

Bristol’s Ferryboats are now up and running, with daily services on the Hotwells (red) route and weekend services (daily from Easter) on the Temple Meads (blue) route.

Forthcoming special trips include: Waterside Wildlife Harbour and Gorge cruises with wildlife expert Ed Drewitt. Next available trip Sun 30 June 10am-1.30pm. £17/£14 concs.

Grand Tour: Under Bridge and up the Cut Head down the Gorge to Sea Mills and then back up the New Cut – the tidal course of the river Avon. Sun 7 Apr 3-6.30pm/Fri 31 May 9.40am-1.10pm. £16/£13 concs.

Classic Gorge Out onto the tidal Avon through one of the deepest locks in Europe, and then under Brunel’s magnificent Suspension Bridge. Fri 5 Apr 2-4.30pm/Sat 4 May 1.30-4pm. £12/£10 concs.

Sunday Riverside Roast Head upriver for Sunday lunch at Beese’s Tea Gardens. £21/£15 concs (includes roast dinner).

Plus private hire, parties and more. www.bristolferry.com

Bristol Old VIC

Historic, adventurous and newlyrefurbed theatre

A Midsummer Night’s Dream to 04.05.13 Artistic Director Tom Morris and South African puppet company Handspring present a playful retelling of Shakespeare’s woodland comedy of fairies, sprites, sexual mismatches and oafish Rude Mechanicals.

Fuelfest 19.03.13-23.03.13 Festival of performance and digital art from award-winning producers Fuel. Includes Will Admsdale’s ‘The Victorian in the Wall’, in which a work-shy writer discovers a Victorian man living in the wall of his flat.

The Bloody Ballad 02.04.13-06.04.13 The Brothers Grimm meets Quentin Tarantino in this brutal love story set around Memorial Day celebrations in 1950s America.

Brunel’s ss Great britain

Historic, Bristol-built steamship

Museums at Night 16.05.13-18.05.13 After last year’s brilliant event, which saw the ss Great Britain appear to ‘float’ on a sea of green jelly, the great steamship will once again be part of the festival of after-hours cultural events in museums and galleries.

Check website for news.

Sounds of the 1800s Daily, 10am-4.30pm Eavesdrop on voices from the past with the help of the ss GB’s new Victorian soundscape, which brings to life the First Class Dining Saloon on a typical journey circa 1850 – complete with the sounds of eating, drinking and illicit gambling.

Ours Was The Fen Country 08.05.13-11.05.13 Dan Canham’s dance-theatre piece draws on interviews with folk from the Fens in East Anglia to get to the heart of this beautiful, bleak and mysterious expanse of flat land.

Harbourside 0117 927 3416

King St, BS1 4ED 0117 987 7877

Great Western Dockyard, BS1 6TY 0117 926 0680

www.bristolferry.com

bristololdvic.org.uk

ssgreatbritain.org

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City Sightseeing Bristol

colston hall

M Shed

City Sightseeing Bristol tours run every weekend until Sat 23 Mar, and daily after that, at 30-, 45- or 90-minute intervals. Harbourside stops include Broad Quay, Anchor Road, Hotwell Road, Cumberland Road, Brunel’s ss Great Britain and Prince Street.

Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate 09.03.13 Critically-acclaimed rapper/beatboxer Driscoll and West African star Kouyate perform tracks from their new collaborative album ‘Faya’.

Chocolate! to 06.05.13 Major exhibition exploring the history, mystery, magic and science of one of Bristol’s (and the nation’s) favourite products.

Premier live performance venue

Local history and art exhibitions

Pic: © Neil Philips

Informative open-top bus tours

Hop On, Hop Off Hop On, Hop Off tickets allow you to fully explore the 21 stops, and also feature discounts for various attractions and eateries around town.

Bus/Boat Combo If you fancy taking to the water, this combo ticket is a popular choice.

1 Day Ticket £12 adult, £11 NUS & OAP, £2 children, £26 family (up to three children) 24 Hour Ticket £15 adult, £13 NUS & OAP, £2 children, £32 family (up to three children) Read more on CSB’s summer tours timetable (June onwards), including a new ‘Rebellious Bristol: Street Art and Riots’ tour, in our summer issue.

The Light Surgeons 10.03.13 The eading audio-visual artists join forces with Malaysian artists and string players from the Heritage Orchestra to present ‘Super Everything’, a performance exploring the relationship between identity, ritual and place.

Philharmonia Orchestra 03.04.13 The South Bank’s Philharmonia returns for its second concert of the season, this time presided over by Grammy-winning conductor Paavo Järvi. Haydn, Brahms and Sibelius are on the bill.

Pink Martini 01.05.13 This 12-piece ensemble are pitched somewhere between a 1930s Cuban dance orchestra, a classical chamber music ensemble, a Brazilian marching street band and Japanese film noir.

Science Discovery Day 23.03.13 Visit the Mini Maker Fair and find out about wildlife, archaeology and industrial inventions. Part of National Science and Engineering Week.

Cranes! 23-24.03.13 & 11-12.05.13 Take a trip in the historical industrial cranes and experience the working life of a docker.

Trips aboard the Pyronaut 06.04.13-07.04.13 Take a ride on this historic fire boat.

Ride the Mayflower 18.05.13-19.05.13 Experience stunning views of Bristol’s Harbourside on the world’s oldest steam tug.

Entry to the museum is free.

For all the latest info, visit mshed.org

07425 788 123

Colston St, BS1 5AR 0117 922 3686

Princes Wharf, Wapping Rd, BS1 4RN 0117 352 6600

citysightseeingbristol.co.uk

colstonhall.org

mshed.org

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tickets

spike island

tobacco factory theatre

watershed

What the Dickens? 18.03.13-22.03.13 Brilliant, madcap local troupe Gonzo Moose cook up some more anarchic comedy theatre – this time featuring Charles Dickens as a rookie reporter, making his way through a world of pockmarked pickpockets and cobwebby convicts, teeming slums and empty marshes, dark secrets and convoluted plots.

Once Upon a Time in Japan 09.03.13-16.03.13 Touring season of contemporary films exploring Japan’s past in a variety of genres, styles and tones.

Nationally renowned theatre

World-renowned arts and new media centre

Pic: © Neil Philips

Contemporary art and design exhibitions and events

I Am Making Art 02.03.13 / 06.04.03 Free, artist-led workshops, 12-4pm.

All ages and abilities welcome.

Back to Back: Exhibition Tour 16.03.13 Free tour of Uriel Orlow’s haunting exhibition ‘Back to Back’, led by Aikaterini Gegisian. 2pm.

Exhibition Previews 12.04.13 Preview evening for Spike’s two new spring exhibitions, ‘Ab Ovo’ by Jessica Warboys and Cara Tolmie’s ‘Pley’.

Spike Island Open 2013 04.05.13-06.05.13 Explore parts of the Spike Island building that are not normally accessible to the public – including inside the artists’ studios.

Harbourside Arts Night 03.05.13 Kick off the bank holiday weekend with new art as Arnolfini, Spike Island and Works|Projects open 6-9pm, followed by an after-party with DJs at Spike ’til late. Bristol’s Ferryboats run a special service for visitors to travel between Arnolfini and Spike Island.

The Count of Monte Cristo 09.04.13-20.04.13 Another local troupe, Company Boudin, give us a rousing rendition of Alexandre Dumas’s epic adventure novel. CB’s version is re-enacted by the workers of a cigar factory – who quickly find their familiar world fading away, to be replaced by Dumas’s exotic landscapes.

The Lumberjacks Show 07.05.13-08.05.13 Comedy night featuring three great Canadian stand-ups: the laconic Stewart Francis, Devon-dwelling storyteller Craig Campbell and the incomparable Glenn Wool.

Bristol Women’s Literature Festival 16.03.13-17.03.13 Featuring the UK’s leading women writers, academics and feminist commentators, including playwright Stella Duffy and scriptwriter Emilia di Girolamo (‘Law & Order UK’).

Evgeny Morozov 19.03.13 The acclaimed author of ‘The Net Delusion’ examines the shape of society in the digital age.

Filmic 19.03.13-14.05.13 Watershed and St George’s cocurated festival, exploring the myriad connections between music and film.

Philip Glass 14.05.13 The composer gives a special performance at St George’s and talk at Watershed about his music, art and creativity (both Tue 14 May).

133 Cumberland Rd, BS1 6UX 0117 929 2266

Raleigh Rd, BS3 1TF 0117 902 0344

1 Canons Rd, bs1 5TX 0117 927 5100

spikeisland.org.uk

tobaccofactorytheatre.com

watershed.co.uk

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details News and views from across the city

Q&A Vegfest 2013 VegfestUK Bristol celebrates its tenth anniversary on 24-26 May. We talk to organiser Tim Barford about what we can expect from one of the Harbourside’s flagship events. For ticket prices, visit bristol.vegfest.co.uk

or upscale – so we upscaled and moved back across the harbour to the Awesome. I am so hard at it. It’s Amphitheatre and Waterfront Square our biggest show by a mile and the for an outdoor weekend festival, workload is phenomenal right now, but which is where we are today.

I absolutely love it and thrive on the

pressure. We’ve got the original Happy What makes the Harbourside a great venue for VegfestUK? Mondays (above) as well as Caravan It’s almost weatherproof! No mud! If Palace, 808 State, The Abyssinians it rains it just runs straight off into the and a few others. It’s a very exciting time and worth all the hard work to get river. It can really hammer it down in the show on the map again. We are the the set-up period (as it did one year) biggest veggie event in the world and, and then the sun comes out and it’s dry within half an hour! But it’s also as such, a flagship event so there is a very central, very picturesque, and a pressure to get things right. friendly, charismatic part of town.

VegfestUK celebrates its tenth

Hello Tim. How are your plans for the show coming along?

anniversary this year. Did you ever think it would last this long?

I had no idea. I did the first one back in 2003 (at Watershed) just for the crack – it seemed like a good idea at the time. Then we moved across the Harbourside to the L shed before it got renovated, and that’s when the whole thing started growing. By the time we had to move out of the L Shed in 2006, it was either downscale

Visitor numbers have grown massively since you launched. What do you think has contributed to VegfestUK’s growing popularity?

People are really catching on about the benefits of eating veggie food.

That doesn’t mean that loads of people are going veggie – just eating less meat and dairy and choosing more veggie options. VegfestUK is a superb place to get acquainted with the best

of the veggie lifestyle. Plus also our headliners have got bigger – the Happy Mondays are huge.

You’ve booked some amazing names for this year’s event. What can visitors expect?

Well, Caravan Palace are hotter than a week in Ibiza with Rihanna right now. They are a French electro-swinggypsy outfit that get the crowd rocking and dancing – infectious, irresistible and quite unique. They play on Friday with support from Kitten and the Hip, and The Boxettes. Then on Saturday we have the original Happy Mondays, complete with Shaun, Bez, some new material and all the classics. I can’t wait – I am a huge Mondays fan and to have them headline our tenth birthday is such a coup. We also have The Abyssinians, who are just about the coolest reggae band on the face of the planet right now. They go right back to the 70s and are truly the real deal.

Quite a line-up! more

bristol.vegfest.co.uk

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Bristol 10k run Sunday 5 May

see Colston Hall From a very clever comic and a Scottish singersongwriter to a Villa-supporting violinist, here’s this season’s pick of the performers

Marcus Brigstocke 16 Apr

The 10K has been an annual event since

2008 Start, Finish and Runners’ Village are on Anchor Rd, Harbourside

over 11,000 runners entered last year

Closing date is Monday 8 April (but may close earlier if spaces fill up) Entry fee £24/£14 for over 60s Visit http://www.runbristol. com/10K/130/Home.aspx

The brilliant, brainy and incisive Brigstocke (pictured), who cut his comic teeth as a student at Bristol University, tackles the trivialities and complexities of life with joyful silliness and vengeful ire. He’s one of a bunch of comedians playing their trade at the moment – see also Robin Ince and Josie Long – who are every bit as thoughtprovoking and subtle as they are witty. Expect plenty of smart, articulate, topical stand-up from this new show.

King Creosote 22 Apr

The brilliant Scottish singer-songwriter – last seen with his beautiful, bucolic ‘Diamond Mine’ collaboration with ambient multi-instrumentalist Jon Hopkins – looks in to introduce Bristol audiences to his new album ‘It Turned Out for the Best’. Expect an evening of fragile, beautiful folk and pastoralia.

Nigel Kennedy 3 May

Kennedy may have made his name back in 1989 with his recording of Vivaldi’s ‘Four Seasons’, one of the best-selling classical recordings of all time, but he has always revelled in a spot of genre-blending, adding elements of jazz, klezmer and more into his eclectic repertoire.

Tonight at the Hall, Kennedy will present a typically maverick musical programme, celebrating the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and – yes – jazz maestro Fats Waller. “Playing Bach and Fats Waller on one show is a dream for me,” Kennedy reveals. “They are two amazing keyboard players, both masters of harmony and melody.” more

colstonhall.org 11 shipshape

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Q&A

5 Reasons to host your business meeting at Glassboat

Doug Hobbs Founder of Hobbs Salon and the Hobbs Show, Europe’s biggest independent fashion event Hello Doug. How are you today?

I’m good. A little overwhelmed in a good way at all the positive feedback for the new salon design.

It’s very encouraging for me and my team to get such a good response.

Congratulations on the refurb.

Are you happy with the results?

Of course, and especially after all the hard work! More importantly my clients and staff are finding it an exciting environment to be in.

You’ve been on Park Row for a number of years. What makes this such a great place to run a business?

Park Row has kept its identity while some high streets are ever changing. It also had a long association with theatre and that

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Enjoy the finest food at incredible value. Glassboat’s lunch menu costs £10 for two courses or £12 for three and is changed daily by head chef Charlie Hurrell

2 history really appeals to me. I am very influenced by theatre and costume, as witnessed by my Hobbs Shows. I have really fond memories of the Dug Out club too!

What makes Hobbs stand out from other salons?

Our attention to detail, and the fact that we really do treat every customer as individuals. Our customers, like our staff, are unique!

Where’s your favourite place for a drink and/or bite to eat?

Rosemarino in Clifton for food and anywhere that serves a really good pint of Guinness, like the Myrtle Tree in Hotwells. more

hobbs-style.co.uk

Choose from one of the beststocked wine cellars in the city, with bottles from Champagne, Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Rhone available

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Admire the stunning views across the river – and don’t forget to say hello to the passing swans Choose the perfect space for your party: the main restaurant is great for smaller groups while parties of up to 40 can hire the private lower deck

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The wonderful lounge bar (one of Shipshape’s favourites) serves a delightful range of cocktails, if yours is more of a liquid lunch affair. If there’s a better way to get a meeting started than with a Twinkle – an elderflower and Prosecco cocktail – we’re all ears… more glassboat.co.uk

markets Retroville, the Tobacco Factory’s vintage and retro market, continues on the first Sunday of every month. A special arts-focused edition will take place on 19 May, as part of Southville and Bedminster’s Southbank Arts Trail (sbaweb. co.uk) ... Temple Quay Market (left) returns on Thursday 4 April. The market, which runs on the first Thursday of the month, is open from 11.30am-2.30pm serving a variety of seasonal produce to liven up your lunch box. For more info about both markets mentioned, more: tobaccofactory.com 12 shipshape

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The Rummer Hotel All Saints Lane, Bristol, BS1 1JH Tel : 0117 9290111 www.therummer.net

Our philosophy is to make everything in house, so we only use our own baked bread and homemade pickles, chutneys, sauces & jams. Our meats, fish & veg are locally sourced and our excellent suppliers ensure the produce reaching us is of a very high quality.

Sunday lunch Highlights Cornish Crab Cake £6.50;Rare Roast Topside of Hereford Beef £10.50; Pork Belly & Crackling; Goats Cheese & Pink Gooseberry Cheesecake £5.00. Fixed Price Option: 3 courses for £17.95 Wednesday steak night Every Wednesday for the duration of 2013, Head Chef Greg McHugh will be hosting a Beef Steak evening. He will be sourcing the finest beef from around the country and beyond, butchering in-house, and serving with a selection of his own sauces and sides. Cuts, prices and cow variety will vary week to week, but we will be kicking off the series with Rib-Eye of Dexter Beef from Stream Farm, served with goose fat chips at £20, or 3 courses at £30.

Riverside Garden Centre & Café 0117 966 7535 www.riversidegardencentre.com

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walk

I love the peace and tranquillity of walking up Brandon Hill. Within 10 minutes of leaving my office at the bottom of Park Street, I can escape to an oasis of calm with the most amazing views over the whole of the south of the city. I love looking down over the rooftops, across the river and on to the Somerset hills.

With such breathtaking views it’s easy to forget that you are still right in the middle of the city.

Another favourite stroll is a circuit of the Harbourside. Crossing Pero’s Bridge from Millennium Square, turn right past Arnolfini and cross over Prince Street Bridge. Take a right along the old rail tracks in front of M

Shed and follow the river as you enter the industrial heartland of times gone by. Continue along the river to the ss Great Britain and enjoy the views of the newly regenerated flats contrasted against Bristol’s iconic skyline of multi-coloured houses in Hotwells.

If you’re feeling energetic, continue along to Cumberland Basin and return to Millennium Square on the opposite side of the river, where there is an excellent riverside walk.

Bristol has a rich and varied architectural history, which is best appreciated at a slow pace. No one can forget a walk up Park Street, which is dominated by the imposing Wills Memorial Building at its summit. As

Pic: Bristol Design

sustainable travel Gill Bridge, Marketing and Communications Manager at the travelwest.info team, who promote sustainable travel in the West of England, share some of her team’s favourite walks

you travel uphill, notice the picturesque Georgian streets tucked behind, and the intriguing plaques on the walls identifying previous famous residents.

Return to the centre by turning right into Upper Maudlin Street and right again after Red Lodge towards Colston Street.

This takes you to the top of Christmas Steps – one of the city’s famous landmarks – and right back to the Centre.

There are so many walks within just a few minutes of the city centre.

We’d encourage you to go at your own pace, and under your own steam, to experience some of the great sights Bristol has to offer. more

travelwest.info

festivals Grillstock (11-12 May, Lloyds Amphitheatre: grillstock.co.uk) returns with its mix of rockabilly, funk and soul bands, top craft beers and top-notch BBQ food ... lovers of graffiti and urban art should head south of the river for Upfest (25-27 May, Tobacco Factory/North Street, Southville: upfest.co.uk) ... foodies won’t want to miss the Love Food Spring Festival (23-24 Mar, Brunel’s Old Station, Temple Meads: lovefoodfestival.com/spring.html), featuring demos, street food stalls and a huge food market ... for alfresco loops and beats, head to Castle Park on 25 May, when electronica all-dayer Love Saves the Day (lovesavestheday.org) returns after a successful 2012 debut.

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DETAILS

MY FAVOURITE DISH As a Hindu I don’t eat beef and as a mark of respect to all other Indians – whether they’re Hindu, Muslim or Sikh – we don’t serve beef or pork in our restaurants. Venison is a healthy alternative to beef and pork, and just as flavoursome. Our Achari Venison is pickled in a delicate marinade then cooked in a tandoor. We serve this with potato and spinach mash.

Amit Lakhani is owner of Myristica MORE myristica.co.uk

MY FAVOURITE TIPPLE My favourite cocktail for a cold afternoon is the Hot Buttered Rum: Chairman’s Reserve Spiced Rum, Drambuie, milk, butter and nutmeg. With its subtle warm spices, smooth velvety texture and subdued sweetness, this is a firm favourite.

Brett Hirt is owner of The Rummer MORE therummer.net

see Tobacco Factory Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory, the brilliant Bristol-based theatre company rightly famed for intimate, eloquent and pin-sharp renditions of the Bard’s oeuvre, will trade history for comedy at the start of April.

After a triumphant (and topical) ‘Richard III’ (pictured), the wonderful Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory turn to a little-performed work from the very start of Will’s career. ‘The Two Gentlemen of Verona’ (4 Apr-4 May) is a playful comedy of mixed-up relationships and hearts sundered and ultimately mended. Proteus, a young Veronese gentleman, forsakes his love Julia in favour of his best friend’s intended, Sylvia, in a story of lifelong loyalties vowed and betrayed.

SATTF’s version promises beautiful music, oodles of comedy both verbal and physical, an edge of darkness… and two unforgettable comic characters in the clownish manservant Launce and his disgracefully incontinent dog Crab. A typically fine SATTF cast includes regulars Jack Bannell, Alan Coveney, Paul Currier and the inimitable actor/illusionist Peter Clifford. Book now. sattf.org.uk / tobaccofactorytheatre.com

MORE

Please call 0117 929

8276

Please have your payment card ready or pay on delivery (cash only).

Orders Tuesday to Sunday: 12.00-15.00 / 18.00-22.00 Monday: 18.00-22.00

‘One of the best Indian meals we have eaten’ Mark Taylor, Bristol Post and Crumbs magazine, 2012 ‘Thoroughly modern and innovative Indian dining experience, perfect those that like their for curry with a touch of class’.

Eleanor Pipe, Folio Magazine, 2012 ‘Excellent, 82% recommend’ Tripadvisor, 2013

Indian restaurant Namaskar has launched its Namaskar Express home delivery service, with free delivery within a four-mile radius of their Welsh Back base. We’ve got our eye Namaskar on the chicken Chettinad, a tasty Keralan dish flavoured with curry leaves, coconut and ExprEs0117s mustard seeds. Call 0117 929 8276 to place your order… more: namaskarlounge.com homE dElivEry 929 Free delivery within a 4 mile radius Please ask for delivery charges outside this area.

Minimum order values Delivery £15.00; Collection £10 10% discount for collections

A dine at home treat... let us do the cooking !

Please enquire about our outside catering, private dining and functions in the restaurant and catering for dinner parties at home.

Welsh Back, Old City, Bristol, 0117 929 8276 info@nama BS1 4RR skarlounge.com www.namaskarlounge .com

Now you can experience simply beautiful Indian food and drinks from Maaza Namaskar Lounge delivered to you at home or work.

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We have chosen Young Bristol as our charity Help us to support of the year. the www.youngbristol.comwork they do helping young people in Bristol.

Registered Charity No 301681

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The Barley Mow undergoes revamp

Bristol Artists’ Book Event Arnolfini welcomes back its annual Bristol Artists’ Book Event on 20-21 April, and this year’s instalment is bigger than ever

St Phillips boozer The Barley Mow is undergoing a revamp which will see the installation of a new bar serving a fine array of beers. The aim is to establish the Mow, a Bristol Beer Factory alehouse, as Bristol’s leading pub for craft beers, via events including tap takeovers, ‘meet the brewer’ nights and a Spring Beer Festival in April – soon after the pub re-opens. Keep an eye on the website for updates. more

bristolbeerfactory.co.uk

city sightseeing wins award Spread over three floors of the Harbourside arts venue, you’ll find over 80 artist bookmakers, dealers and small presses from Bristol and around the world, all showing and selling their unique works, with prices starting at just a few pounds.

Across the weekend you’ll also find performances, interventions and informal talks.

We particularly like the look of artist Imi Maufe and her project ‘LK 243 UnderSail’. Maufe, who completed her studies at the University of the West of England,

spent five weeks on board the sailing ship Swan during the 2011 Tall Ships Races, travelling from Ireland to Sweden via the Shetland Islands, documenting and collecting information to be used in the final exhibition that you’ll see at Arnolfini.

Wooden postcards, some 500 boat drawings and a collection of artists’ books, screenprints and other artefacts will be on show, housed in a bunk box made specifically to contain the entire exhibition and travel onboard the Swan. more

arnolfini.org.uk

Congrats to City Sightseeing Bristol, the open-top bus tour providers, who were one of five organisations shortlisted for Tourism Experience of the Year at January’s Bristol Tourism and Hospitality Awards. The joint winners were the street art festival See No Evil and Bristol Zoo’s Wow! Gorillas art project. Congratulations also to the company’s MD Warwick Hulme, winner of the Customer Service of the Year award. We’ll have news of CSB’s summer tours timetable in our summer issue, including a new ‘Rebellious Bristol: Street Art and Riots’ tour as well as the ever-popular Story Bus. more

citysightseeingbristol.co.uk

An archaeological investigation has taken place at Wapping Wharf, kick-starting the first phase of the area’s major redevelopment. Construction work is expected to begin in spring and the first phase of development will include 180 apartments and up to 865m2 of retail and leisure space. more: wappingwharf.

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relax at Lido If spring has turned your thoughts to fitness and health, Clifton’s elegant and luxurious Lido should be high on your list of desired destinations. The beautiful pool, spa and restaurant complex has a number of swim and eat packages on offer, including Spa and Dine (use of pool, sauna and steam room, one-hour spa treatment and two-course a la carte dinner) at £85 per person, and the self-explanatory Swim, Tapas and Wine at £30 a head. more

lidobristol.com

visit Chocolate!

Whether you like yours packed with peanuts or prefer an unadulterated square of 70% cocoa solids, the chocoholic in you will be drooling over M Shed’s love letter to all things cacao

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his spring, the Harbourside’s brilliant M Shed museum becomes a chocoholic’s mecca with the exhibition ‘Chocolate!’ (until 6 May), which explores the history, mystery, magic and science of one of Bristol’s (and the nation’s) favourite products. Within, you’ll find the stories of those who’ve produced the dark wonder in our fair city over the past 250 years, including Fry’s and Elizabeth Shaw, and find out just why the stuff tastes so good.

You’ll be able to cast your eyes over some 500 objects from the Museum’s collections, dating back to 1729, and gaze upon the last Fry’s Chocolate bar and Elizabeth Shaw Mint Crisp chocolates to roll off the production lines in Keynsham and Greenbank, Bristol respectively.

Elsewhere, you’ll learn how chocolate acted as a medical remedy in days gone by, as well as finding out what life was like in a chocolate factory and sampling a multi-sensory experience complete with working machinery, smells and items to touch. See also Kids on page 39 for some especially family-friendly events (as if the nippers will need dragging to this one…) more

mshed.org

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Q&A Good egg award Congrats to At-Bristol’s Café, recently awarded the Soil Association’s Food for Life Catering Mark (Silver Level) as well as a Good Egg award from the animal welfare charity Compassion in World Farming. The SA award recognises that the Café’s food is freshly made, as well as being locally and ethically sourced: the Good Egg gong, meanwhile, salutes the use of free range eggs in all the café’s cooking. Ethical eaters, your table awaits… more at-bristol.org.uk/cafe.html

sunday shanties Head down to cosy waterside hangout No. 1 Harbourside during the May Bank Holidays for one of its Harbourside Sunday Shanties. As well as browsing the weekly Harbourside Sunday market just outside, you can treat yourself to a delicious locally sourced roast, sample the best guest ales and soak up some soulful sea shanties and Celtic jamming from 11am to 5pm. more no1harbourside.co.uk

John Wood & Paul Harrison Shipshape grabs a chat with the humorous artists’ duo, who’ll be opening up their Spike Island studio as part of the Spike Open in May What sorts of themes do you tackle in your practice?

Everybody – artists, cleaners, teachers, accountants, gardeners – thinks about new things everyday.

Our job is to turn those ideas into pieces of art. We’ve worked together for over 20 years and have had a lot of ideas during that time.

We’ve tried, with varying success, to make those into art. Everything from pop songs to what it’s like to fall over, action adventure movies to running for a bus.

What will visitors to your studio at Spike Open come across?

We’ve just finished a video work about falling off a ladder (100 times), and another one about 100 car bombs in a supermarket car park, both for an exhibition in Switzerland, so they may be shown. And some small sculptures: one considering how sheep might entertain themselves when they get bored. One of the many great things about the Open is that you are in your own space and can show brand new work, finished perhaps only the day before.

What sorts of thoughts and feelings do you hope your work inspires?

Over the weekend we may get a couple of thousand people coming into the space, so that’s a couple of thousand different thoughts, feelings and impressions.

Everything from ‘they should be knighted’ (highly unlikely) to ‘I hope there’s some of that cake left at the cafe’ (highly likely). harrisonandwood.com / spikeisland.org.uk

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Bristol’s Ferryboats in figures 5 Number of boats in the fleet ... 8 Individuals in FBB’s consortium ... 72 Hours it took the consortium to raise funds for the ferries ... 1978 The year Ian Bungard set up the Bristol Ferry Boat Company See feature p31 18 shipshape

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Q&A Josh Eggleton Eat Drink Bristol Fashion takes place on 13-27 May at Queen Square. We talk to co-founder and top chef Josh Eggleton about the forthcoming event and his other life at award-winning pub The Pony and Trap more guest restaurants putting on menus and we are expanding our entertainment The very best of Bristol’s food industry programme, holding art exhibitions and all in one amazing tipi village! On one adding more great live music. side it’s a pop-up restaurant that serves Why did you decide to launch Eat 100 people; on the other side there’s a Drink Bristol Fashion? ‘modern British’ tapas bar that holds about 300 with live music playing day Bristol’s food scene is absolutely and night. The whole thing pops-up for thriving but I don’t think we shout about it enough. We’re too laid-back about two weeks from 13 May to 27 so other cities get the plaudits. This May, showcasing the very best chefs, was just a way we thought we could suppliers, restaurants and music the help put Bristol on the map. city has to offer. Then we take down the tipis and go off to Glastonbury!

Eat Drink Bristol Fashion is returning this year. What can we expect?

What’s new for 2013?

We want people to think about where their food is coming. We’re holding a food conference this year to emphasise the sustainable ‘field to fork’ process and teaming up with the Love Food Festival, who will hold a market on bank holiday Monday. We have even

Congratulations on retaining your Michelin Star at The Pony and Trap.

How would you sum up your style?

Thanks. People always forget we’re a pub and we try to always keep that in mind. Of course, we experiment but we always have classics on the menu.

We just concentrate on doing every dish as perfectly as possible.

Where are some of your favourite places to eat in Bristol?

So many… and most of them are at Eat Drink Bristol Fashion! But my gems of the moment are the Souk Kitchen and Flinty Red. If you weren’t a chef, what would you be doing?

I got asked this the other day and I had no idea. I used to do a lot of sailing and skiing so maybe an instructor of one of those.

And finally, what’s your favourite post-service snack?

A nice pint!

more Eat Drink Bristol Fashion, Queen Square, 13-27 May, eatdrinkevents.co.uk / The Pony and Trap, Newtown, Chew Magna, theponyandtrap.co.uk

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Drawn 2013 Major new exhibition exploring the art of drawing and its relationship to other art forms. Royal West of England Academy, 23 Mar-2 June.

The Art Collective Group show by this roving gallery.

Includes Ben Gold’s atmospheric shots of music festivals at night.

Tobacco Factory, 7-30 Mar.

Affordable Art Fair Hugely popular annual art fair returns. Stalls from 55 contemporary art galleries, plus kids’ activities. Brunel’s Old Station, 26-28 Apr.

The Still Life of a Strongroom Bristol photographer Neil McCoubrey captures life behind the scenes at the Record Office. Bristol Record Office, to 31 May.

grainbarge.co.uk

rwa.org.uk

tobaccofactory.com

affordableartfair.com/bristol

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Pencilface / Louisa Woodworth Screenprints and original works. Bright, bold colours, and influences ranging from textiles to 1970s children’s literature.

Grain Barge, 4-31 Mar.

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Q&A Heidi Hinder

The artist, designer and maker discusses her new work, ‘Money No Object’, which forms part of Watershed’s new Craft + Technology Residencies

Hello Heidi. How are you today?

Hello Harbourside! Today I’m enjoying the beautiful view of boats on the water from the windows of the Pervasive Media Studio. Everything is Shipshape and Bristol fashion!

on the future of physical currency and what might happen to coins in particular.

While coins can sometimes seem inconvenient, I think a lot of people have a certain affection for these detailed objects, and the stories they tell as representations of value and identity.

What are you doing?

I’m currently working at Watershed’s Pervasive Media Studio on a project called ‘Money No Object’, which considers the future of physical currency in the digital age. The commission is part of the Craft + Technology residency scheme, supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Watershed and the Crafts Council, so the intention is to explore the Internet of Things, where designed and crafted objects (such as coins) can be embedded with smart technology.

What do you hope viewers will take away from ‘Money No Object’?

Hopefully people will enjoy the visual outcome of the project, as well as the ideas that are explored within it. Perhaps they will be intrigued enough to ponder

The disparity between reality and illusion is something you explore often in your work – why?

Anything that is imperceptible or inexplicable always appeals to me because it means there is so much more to discover and explore within the subject. Sometimes reality can be a limitation that only the power of the imagination or an illusion can lift.

You have a background in literature.

Does this shape or inform your work?

I find it really useful to reflect on my artistic practice by writing about it, in order to help clarify my ideas and determine the essence of what I am hoping to convey in visual form. The titles of my art objects and installations are usually significant and hint at

the concepts behind the work. (I’m especially fond of a good pun!) I also try to tell stories through some of the more narrative objects I create, and occasionally I will incorporate books and text into the work itself.

What’s been the proudest moment of your career so far?

Last year, some of my small sculptures were on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum and, during this exhibition, there was a golden week where both the V&A and the British Museum acquired two of my three artworks on show.

Where can we next see your work?

The British Art Medal Society is issuing a limited edition of a handheld sculpture they commissioned me to design and produce. The work celebrates the women of the 18th century Bluestocking Society, while also highlighting their lack of prominence in history. more behance.net/HeidiHinder / watershed.co.uk/ished

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spyglass supper cruises Announcing a great new feature at Bristol’s brilliant floating restaurant Spyglass. The restaurant, which reopens for the summer season in April, is introducing its new Supper Cruise party menu: a three-course supper on board, complete with transport from one of Bristol’s three ferry boat companies. Simply contact one of the boat operators for their availability and book both the boat and Spyglass table with them. The ferry will then convey you and your party direct to Spyglass’s own landing stage on Welsh Back, where you’ll disembark for your elegant waterside dining experience. more Number Seven Boat Trips: 0117 929 3659; The Bristol Packet: 0117 926 8157; Bristol’s Ferryboats: 0117 927 3416

see Filmic @ Watershed This fine festival, co-programmed by Watershed and St George’s Bristol and dedicated to the intersection of music and film, returns for a second year.

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s last year, Filmic (9 March-14 May) will host talks, screenings and musical performances at Watershed and St George’s, mixing work by locally based artists and major international figures. Highlights include the celebrated, Bristol-based music producer John Parish discussing his work with PJ Harvey and his upcoming ‘Screenplay’ CD (19 March) and a double bill featuring Philip Glass, first in conversation with Charles Hazlewood at Watershed and then in a solo piano performance at St George’s (14 May).

And don’t miss, on 21 March, a screening and performance of ‘Drokk’, the collaboration between Portishead’s Geoff Barrow and soundtrack-composer Ben Salisbury (David Attenborough’s ‘Life Of…’ series). Inspired by 2000 AD’s Judge Dredd comic-strip and commissioned for the current Dredd film but not used, ‘Drokk’ uses 80s synths and drum machines to summon up a bygone future.

“Growing up, film soundtracks had provided some of my favourite pieces of music – Ennio Morricone and John Barry of course, but also Wim Mertens, John Carpenter, Nino Rota and many others,” Parish reveals. “I could tell that all these influences were buried in my own music, which I thought of as ‘filmic’ long before I’d ever scored a movie.

“I love writing music as part of a visual collaboration, whether for film or stage, because you have the opportunity to use space and stretch time, in ways that wouldn’t necessarily work in a stand-alone piece of music.” more

watershed.co.uk

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Hop on a bus, ferry or bike – or use your own two feet – for a different view of the city

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SIGHTSEEING

FERRIES

CYCLING

WALKING

City Sightseeing Bristol runs tours of the city’s most historic districts in its distinctive red double-decker buses. Tours, with commentary, run daily until September. They last 75 minutes, but you can hop on and off as you please. Harbourside stops include Create Centre, Baltic Wharf, Brunel’s ss Great Britain, At-Bristol, Prince Street, Bristol Bridge, Welsh Back and Arnolfini.

CSB is now running pirate and storytelling bus trips for families.

More: citysightseeingbristol.co.uk

Number Seven Boat Trips (NSBT, numbersevenboattrips.com) and Bristol’s Ferryboats (bristolferry. com) operate regular ferry services around the Harbourside, as well as public trips and excursions. The ferry stops are illustrated on the map or visit the operators’ websites for timetable information. NSBT also operates a cross-harbour ferry from Brunel’s ss Great Britain to the Harbourside (Hotwells) while the Bristol Packet runs

“Bristolians know that one of the best ways to get around the city is by bike,” says Gill Bridge of travelwest.info. “Since achieving ‘Cycle City” status in 2009, there has been significant investment in cycling infrastructure including dedicated cycle lanes and offroad routes, making it easier to get around on two wheels, and providing excellent opportunities to get out into the beautiful surrounding countryside.”

“The only way to really appreciate what makes up the unique character of Bristol is to explore the city by foot,” says Gill Bridge, Marketing and Communications Manager at travelwest.info. “Spring is the perfect time to get out and about and enjoy Bristol at its best.”

Turn to page 14 to read Gill and her team’s favourite walks around the city, including the Harbourside walk, Brandon Hill walk and Park Street loop pictured on our map.

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This pic: a tram car in the 1920’s Right: 1900’s bottom station

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high and mighty You’ve certainly driven past its lower station. You may even know that it wasn’t a proper railway. But we’ll bet there are loads of facts you didn’t know about Clifton Rocks Railway Words Eugene Byrne

It wasn’t a proper railway, as in trains and stations and stuff. It was a funicular railway. These are designed to get people up and down steep slopes or cliffs using carriages that travel along rails.

To experience the Clifton Rocks Railway, go to Devon.

The Clifton Rocks Railway was built by businessman and Newmarket MP George (later Sir George) Newnes (18511910) after he had built a similar system linking Lynton and Lynmouth, near his holiday home. The L&L Cliff Railway is still working and still uses its original waterbalance system: the two cars are linked by a cable and the weight of water in a tank in the descending car pulls the ascending one upwards. While this system has two cars – one going up, one going down – the Clifton Railway had two on either side.

All images: Peter Davey Collection

The Daily Mail and the Daily Express are both Newnes’s fault. Newnes made his money as a magazine publisher.

His best-known title was the Strand, which carried the first Sherlock Holmes stories, but his biggest commercial success was Tit-Bits, a weekly full of human interest stories, which pioneered popular journalism for the increasingly literate working classes. Both the founders of the Daily Mail and the Daily Express began their careers at Tit-Bits.

Work started at a ceremony watched by thousands on Saturday 7 March 1891. The VIPs were gathered at a special grandstand where the Avon Gorge Hotel is nowadays, and the bands of the Bristol Rifle Volunteers and the Bristol Volunteer Artillery were on hand. The Mayor, Sir Charles Wathen and Lady Wathen attended, and her ladyship fired the inaugural blasting charge by pressing a button. The tonite (a now-forgotten Victorian explosive pronounced ‘toe-night’, not ‘tonight’) charge exploded, half a tonne of rock flew off at the bottom, the bands struck up the national anthem and everyone cheered.

Newnes made a speech congratulating Lady Wathen on her “simply splendid” effort. The old girl had simply pressed a button, though for an upper class woman at the time this presumably represented an exhausting day’s work.

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Right: top entrance Far right: top station (Sion Hill, Clifton)

high and mighty The Mayor’s speech made a more telling point, hoping the railway would revive the Hotwells as a spa. Newnes had got permission for the railway on condition that he also build a “Hydropathic Institute” that would replicate the functions of Bath’s Pump Room. If you go round the back of the CRR’s top station nowadays you can still see the building, complete with Newnes’s initials over a door, which is attended by carvings of cherubs and two life-size half-naked women.

Naturally a spa needed a prestigious hotel. Newnes entertained 200 guests at a dinner to mark the opening of the Grand Spa Hotel in 1894 – now the Avon Gorge Hotel.

Cliftonians weren’t keen. Many of Clifton’s more snobbish residents had bitterly resisted the arrival of trams, fearing the working classes might visit their pleasant and exclusive suburb on bank holidays. Many weren’t keen on a funicular railway either, but they were reassured that a posh spa would attract the right sort of people. They were also told the railway would make it easier for their servants to travel to work.

Budgeted at £10,000, the railway cost £30,000. The tunnel was expected to be finished in 12 months, but took two years, even with specialist pneumatic drill operators brought in from Canada. The problem was the rock was very hard (mostly limestone) and full of faults, causing frequent rock falls inside and outside the tunnel. This is why it was lined with bricks.

The tunnel headings were bored, dug, blasted and drilled from both top and bottom. Everyone was delighted and relieved when the 10-year-old son of the main contractor (CA Hayes of Thomas Street) squeezed through a hole where the two works met. They were aligned perfectly.

The tunnel is 500ft long, 18ft high and 27ft 6in wide.

The Clifton Rocks Railway was opened on March 11 1893.

Over 6,000 people made the return journey on the first day, and it carried 428,000 passengers in its first year.

Its fortunes declined rapidly. The spa never took off and the business began to lose money. It was bought by Sir George White’s Bristol Tramways & Carriage Company in 1912.

The Portway killed it. In the 1920s, the Portway was the most expensive road project in Britain. Not only did it mean a busy road was running right next to the lower station, but it also did away with much of the old Port & Pier Railway, which would have brought passengers to the Rocks Railway.

It finally closed on 1 October 1934, and was soon vandalised. “This is particularly true of the upper entrance, adjoining the Clifton Spa Hotel ... The cracking of the panes of the canopy roof is no doubt accounted for by the stone-throwing activities of irresponsible louts and guttersnipes” – Western Daily Press, 25 May 1939.

In WW2 it was an emergency BBC station in the event of German invasion, and/or Broadcasting House in Whiteladies Road being destroyed by bombs. Many BBC personnel and departments relocated from London to Bristol during the war. The influx of BBC personnel is thought to have been the reason why Bristol got its first proper gay pub (the Radnor Hotel, St Nicholas Street), but that’s another story…

The BBC tested the acoustics in the tunnel by getting Sir Adrian Boult to conduct a 100-piece orchestra there.

The tunnel was also occupied by Bristolians who used it as an air raid shelter over the winter of 1940-41. In popular myth, it’s often confused with the nearby Portway Tunnel beneath the Suspension Bridge. The latter was also taken over by civilians for use as an unofficial shelter. When several hundred people refused to be moved from there in early 1941 it was widely thought to have been Britain’s biggest single act of civil disobedience of the war.

The tunnel has been disused since 1960. The BBC retained an interest for a while, in case the Cold War turned hot, but it has long since been abandoned. There are no plans to get the railway running again.

It now belongs to the Avon Gorge Hotel, but local charity the Clifton Rocks Railway Trust looks after the site and works to preserve and restore it. There are occasional open days, and groups can book guided tours of the actual tunnel. See www.cliftonrocksrailway.org.uk for details.

Walk by the top entrance nowadays and you’ll notice a plastic bin with a bell in it. This is an ingenious fundraising wheeze by the Trust inviting passers-by to try and ring the bell by chucking coins at it. If you’re suffering the pinch at the moment, you might want to try the same thing at your house.

Clifton Rocks Railway will be holding open days on 14 April, 28 April and 12 May from 10am-4pm. The events are free and include a guided walk around the top station. Free buses will run on 28 April from Lloyds Amphitheatre to the top station.

Clifton Rocks Railway in numbers 30,000 The total build cost in pounds ... 24 The number of months it took to complete ... 500 The tunnel’s length in feet ... 428,000 The total number of passengers it carried in its first year ... 1960 The year the tunnel finally fell into disuse 29 shipshape

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Theily fam way Fix it with Bob the Builder, speak to cats at the Old Vic and visit the King of Egypt at Bristol Museum Words Mark Sayers

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Sea stories There are always plenty of good reasons for families to visit Brunel’s ss Great Britain, the historic steamer berthed on the Harbourside.

At the Brunel Institute next door, the free, monthly ‘Sea Hear’ storytelling sessions for pre-schoolers, mixing original sea tales with new twists, continue on the first Tuesday of the month. Back on board, new Family Trails (daily from Sat 23 March) invite all ages to explore life on board the steamer through the eyes of original crew members. more

ssgreatbritain.org

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Chocs away As if the prospect of gawping at the beautiful brown stuff wasn’t enough of a draw, M Shed have programmed some top free family events into its spring ‘Chocolate!’ exhibition (see page 17). On Wednesday 27 March, creative types aged 5+ can create their own origami Easter baskets, while the following Tuesday (2 Apr, 2pm) M Shed screens ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’, the original 1971 film version of Roald Dahl’s much-loved book tale. Early arrival advised. more

mshed.org

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Get the Hiccups Discerning kids will want to sample the delights of ‘Rumpelstiltskin’ (2-7 Apr, The Brewery), in which Hiccup Theatre use a mix of live music, puppetry and storytelling to retell the classic fairytale. Straw turns to gold, magic and mayhem are in the air… but will our brave heroine solve the riddle and save the day or will rotten Rumpel double-cross her once and for all?

Only Southville has the answer… more

tobaccofactorytheatre.com

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Marine marvels Upcoming events at the brilliant Bristol Aquarium down on Anchor Road include an Underwater Easter Egg-travaganza (Sat 23 Mar-Sun 7 Apr), followed by a Seahorse Weekend (Sat 11-Sun 12 May), with talks and activities devoted to these beautiful and unique creatures.

Last but not least, the Aquarium’s Shark Week (Sat 25 May-Sun 2 June) will feature exhibitions, entertaining talks, feeding demonstrations and fun activities, all aimed at dispelling the popular misconceptions of sharks as mindless man-eaters. more

bristolaquarium.co.uk

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Lion’s share A bit special, is this, as Bristol Old Vic hosts the first-ever family show by the long-standing, revered theatre troupe Complicité.

‘Lionboy’ (29 May-1 June) tells the story of 11-year-old Charlie Ashanti – a perfectly normal boy, except for one thing: he can speak to cats. When Charlie’s parents are kidnapped, he sets off on a rescue mission – with a little help from a floating circus and its pride of performing lions. Ages 8+. more

bristololdvic.org.uk

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Walk like an Egyptian Bristol Museum’s upcoming ‘Pharaoh: King of Egypt’ exhibition (16 March-21 July), on loan from the British Museum, looks nothing short of spectacular, with some 100 artefacts exploring the lives of the pharaohs and their role as heads of state, high priests and army commanders. And the good news is that there’s plenty to keep the whole family interested, with special activities including a free ‘young collectors card’, in which visitors earn special hieroglyph stamps by exploring the museum. more

www.bristol.gov.uk/museums

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Can we fix it?

Yes we can, at At-Bristol this spring. The science exploratory’s new exhibit ‘Build It!’ (from Sat 23 March) allows under-eights to get to work on an interactive construction site, complete with hard hats, giant building blocks and a scaffold to climb. And, during the launch weekend (Sat 23-Sun 24), the venerable Bob the Builder will be making personal appearances at intervals over both days.

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at-bristol.org.uk

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Delivering Bristol Harbour Festival 2013 Event Organisers of the Year 2006/2007/2009 Carefully. Creatively. Meticulously.

Richmond Event Management Ltd 59 Prince Street Bristol BS1 4QH Tel 0117 9276614 Fax 0117 9221497 Email info@rem-events.com www.rem-events.com

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feature

The great escape Bristol Ferry Boat Company’s yellow and blue vessels were heading straight for the scrapheap until a local consortium rallied to save them. We talk to two of the key figures about what compelled them to save the business Words: Rebecca Ewing

At the end of last year, one of the mainstays of Bristol’s Harbourside was heading for obscurity as the decision was made by Bristol Ferry Boat Co (BFBC) to call in the liquidators. It would be a gloomy end for a company that had operated in the docks for over 30 years and, at its height, employed up to 30 members of staff.

But then along came a group of local business people, including BFBC’s original owner, Ian Bungard, architect and activist Keith Hallett, Glassboat owner Arne Ringner and Sustrans founder John Grimshaw, who were determined that Bristol should keep hold of its yellow and blue boats.

“Nearly all of us live close to the city centre and we value the city docks highly as one of the special parts of the city,” says John Grimshaw. “When we heard that the yellow and blue ferries had gone into receivership we had to find out why and to do something about it.”

“When old favourite institutions are at stake I feel one has to turn up and do all that is necessary,” adds Arne Ringner.

“Ian Bungard and I go back much too long time to allow anything to happen to his creation. The BFBC were the first ferry boats to ply the harbour and are an iconic institution, just like the Bristol Packet’s Tower Belle and Redshank are essential and irreplaceable.”

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The consortium pulled together enough money to buy five of BFBC’s vessels (Brigantia, Emily, Independent, Margaret and Matilda) at auction in December and set up a Community Interest Company (CIC) to run the service on a day-to-day basis. The new business, called Bristol’s Ferryboats, will be run as a not-for-profit enterprise by Bungard and his wife Philippa (pictured, left).

Bristol’s Ferryboats will join Number Seven Boat Trips in running a regular ferry service across the Harbourside (the city’s other ferry company, Bristol Packet Boat Trips, operates guided trips around the Avon and beyond). From Easter, they will be running daily services to Temple Meads, and excursions and public trips will also be back on the menu.

Most importantly, the group hopes that the ferries will soon become an everyday choice for those wishing to navigate the city. “We want to see a regular, frequent ferry service which can be relied upon for many short trips in the city centre as well as being the best way for visitors to get a good picture of the city,” says Grimshaw. “We would like to have a suffiently frequent service to the station for the ferry to be the normal way to start one’s visit to Bristol.” more

bristolferry.com

27/02/2013 18:00

FEATURE

A BRIEF GUIDE TO UNBUILT BRISTOL

A five-storey bridge across Avon Gorge. A train station built on Queen Square.

Pedestrian walkways in the sky. We discover some of the building projects that almost, but never quite, made it to fruition Words Eugene Byrne

The footnotes of Bristol’s history are littered with plans for building projects that never happened. You could take some of the things proposed at one time or another and build a completely different city in your own imagination. In some ways it would be a better place, in others it could be horrible.

It would certainly be different.

Take the bridge across the Avon Gorge.

In 1793 one William Bridges proposed a fabulous structure which would feature five storeys’ worth of accommodation, including granaries, a corn exchange, a chapel, workshops, a naval school and a library. This wasn’t a fanciful notion – it was a completely serious proposal that was to cash in on the building boom then going on in Clifton, and which was meant

to kick-start a second boom on the Leigh Woods side. It would have been a little selfcontained port in itself. Had it been built it would nowadays be a Grade I-listed building, far more famous than Brunel’s bridge. It would probably be full of expensive designer shops paying very high rents.

The Victorians left us plenty of great buildings, as well as a huge amount of the city’s infrastructure. Take the railways, for instance – they didn’t always get it right, and they knew it. One of Bristol’s problems then, as now, was that Temple Meads station was too far from the city centre. There were a number of serious and well-financed schemes to bring the railway right into the middle of town.

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27/02/2013 17:42

Model of the Behnisch design for the Harbourside Centre (Christian Kandzia/ Behnisch Architekten)

THE HARBOURSIDE CENTRE One of the most significant unrealised Bristol building projects of recent decades was the Harbourside Centre.

This prestigious performance venue would have been on the docks, between the Lloyds TSB building and where the Bordeaux Quay restaurant is nowadays, and was intended as a focal point in the regeneration of the Canons Marsh area.

The project was launched in a blizzard of publicity in 1997 when Lord Gowrie, Chairman of the Arts Council, arrived by helicopter with a cheque for £4.3m to get things started. He famously compared the radical design of the building, by Behnisch & Behnisch of Stuttgart,

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to an exploding greenhouse. Due to be completed by 2002, the building would accommodate a 2,300-capacity concert venue, plus a smaller 450-seat auditorium.

It would also be home to the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra for the Age of Enlightenment.

Some of the £89m cost was to come from sponsorship, and from Bristol City Council, but the bulk of the money was coming from the Arts Council. While the project would obviously have to go through a lengthy and rigorous application process, it was widely understood that the bid was looked on with favour.

The very fact that the Arts Council gave almost £5m to get the project started showed that it wanted the bid to succeed.

In July 1998, however, the project collapsed after the Arts Council withdrew its support. It had produced a report citing vague and ill-defined problems of management, though this seemed highly implausible given the project’s high-powered private sector and City Council partnership.

Observers at the time and since say this was a mere smokescreen to cover the Arts Council from embarrassment (and possible legal action) when it decided it couldn’t afford to support such a big project.

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FEATURE

Queen Square station

The most horrifying (from our viewpoint) was the Bristol & Clifton Railway Company’s plan to build the city’s principal railway station at Queen Square. Nobody at the time objected on conservation grounds; opposition came from people with business interests in the docks who didn’t want the railway taking their trade. The objectors were accomplished in the dark arts of public relations. The line would have continued to another station at the bottom of Brandon Hill and they persuaded 150 local washerwomen, who hung out clothes to dry on the hill, that the smoke from steam locos would ruin them. They even got three of the women to appear as witnesses against the scheme at a parliamentary hearing.

The scheme was thrown out.

would stretch from Park Street to Broadmead.

You would be able to walk across the central part of the city without ever encountering any cars. At its heart would be a huge upper-level “piazza” right above the Centre. There would be other piazzas too, all of them lined with shops, cafes and pubs.

Parts of it were put in place. You can see it in, for instance in the area over Nelson and Rupert Streets. There’s even one of the fabled piazzas on top of Froomsgate House, and another on the Whitefriars Building. Nobody ever uses them.

Many people objected to the pedestrian decking system, but this was nothing compared to the protests over the council’s plans to close the City Docks, fill in parts of them and run huge roads through the middle of the city.

The birth of Broadmead

The 20th century would be very different. This would be the era of heavy involvement of central and local government, rather than developments purely being led by private enterprise. For the most astonishing visions for Bristol, try the 1940s. After Bristol was heavily bombed in 1940-41 what most Bristolians wanted was just to get their old city back. They especially missed the vibrant shopping area centred on Wine Street and Castle Street, which until November 1940 was the social heart of Bristol as well as the retail one.

The council’s planners had different ideas. It never even occurred to them to rebuild bombed out areas. Bristol’s planners and architects put forward various schemes, which all had one thing in common: they were going to rebuild the entire central area of the city. All of these plans look ghastly and Stalinist nowadays, but in the context of the time they were very idealistic.

The council applied to central government for compulsory purchase powers over 771 acres of the city.

The plans, of course, were completely unaffordable in the original austerity era. The council was given just four and a half acres, and built Broadmead. Slowly.

Streets in the sky

Cars were always going to be a problem for a city like Bristol, with its complicated topography and narrow medieval and Victorian streets, but in the late 1960s they came up with an solution which now seems astonishing.

They were going to separate pedestrians and traffic.

The vehicles would thunder through the city along big new wide roads, while pedestrians would move around on walkways above. This network of “pedestrian decking”

Public consultation

This was a key turning point in Bristol’s postwar history.

What actually put paid to the council plans was the economic crisis of the early 1970s, but objectors to the plans, including the Civic Society, the Council’s Labour group, and the new intake of Liberal Councillors – including a young architect named George Ferguson, now the city’s first elected mayor – had won the argument.

From now on, there would be no more “top down” planning decisions made in closed rooms. From now on, Bristol would consult the public on major developments, it would be far more sensitive to conservation.

The 1990s and the early noughties were, in retrospect, a golden age of failed, or at least postponed, schemes – good, bad and indifferent. Think of all the different plans for Harbourside, or the arena, or the Bristol City FC stadium or, one of the greatest failures of all, the succession of tram and public transport systems which we’ve been talking about since the Bristol Metro of the 1980s.

Ten years ago, there were probably days when the local press featured almost as many artists’ impressions of proposed buildings as photos of real, actual things. Now, with our ongoing economic woes, we’re in a new phase.

While we talk of an arena or of football stadiums, there are few really visionary proposals for anything that’s likely to happen anytime soon – though this won’t stop lots of people having all manner of great ideas for the future. And some terrible ones too.

MORE Unbuilt Bristol - the City That Might Have Been 1750-2050 by Eugene Byrne is published by Redcliffe Press in May 2013.

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FEATURE

Above: In the 1980s a private firm called Advanced Transport for Avon was going to build us the ‘Avon Metro’ tram system.

Below: View of the Harbourside Centre interior, from the architect’s model (Christian Kandzia/ Behnisch Architekten).

Right: By the early 1970s, Bristolians were starting to protest at all the roads that were being built in their name. Civic Society activist Jerry Hicks regularly satirised officialdom in cartoons like this one.

Top left: Brunel’s wasn’t the only design put forward for a bridge over the Avon. This one came from one of his rivals, a Birmingham engineer named Capper. The “romantic ruin” look was all the rage at the time (© Bristol’s Museums, Galleries & Archives).

Bottom right: One of the most extraordinary ideas of 1960s council planners was that pedestrians would be walking around on pathways and piazzas in the sky. Some were even built, such as those over Nelson Street and Rupert Street.

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BACK BA B ACK AC TO LIFE Spring is finally here, and it’s the perfect time to enjoy the sounds, scents and colour of our flora and fauna Words Ed Drewitt Slow-worms

As the days begin to warm, reptiles will be emerging from hibernation and basking in the sunshine. In Bristol, the slow-worm is the most common you will see. This legless lizard can be spotted in sunny, open patches in gardens, allotments or woodland edges close to cover, for a quick escape.

To avoid being eaten by a predator, slow-worms lose their wriggling tails to the attacker, while they slither away and escape. It won’t be left tailless for long – they are able to grow new tails. Watch out for them on the edge of cycle paths and walkways along the River Avon and Feeder Canal.

PICS: ED DREWITT

Birdsong

Birds are busy pairing up and some, such as the blackbird (top left) and collared dove, may already have eggs or chicks. Listen out for the song of the great tit, a distinctive ‘teecher, teecher’, which sounds like a squeaky gate or bicycle pump. In early evening, listen out for the soft, flutey tones of the blackbird singing from a TV aerial or nearby tree. Even though it’s still dark outside in the early mornings, robins may be singing close to street lamps – the light stimulates them to sing.

Water vole

A rare, small rodent in the UK, the water vole thrives along our waterways in Bristol, and the county holds the most important population in the region. Portbury Wharf Nature Reserve close to Portishead and cycle routes close to Avonmouth in northwest Bristol are good places to listen out for them as they loudly nibble plant stems or dip into the water with a splash. Although sometimes mistaken for a rat, they have a shorter tail and a more rounded, cute appearance.

Grey heron

While grey herons (right) use their stealth to catch fish and eels along rivers and ponds, they nest, perhaps surprisingly, in colonies in trees during early spring by the River Avon near Shirehampton and Eastwood Farm Local Nature Reserve near Brislington. When they have hungry chicks to feed, they may also visit garden ponds, sometimes perching on houses before making their catch. The young look prehistoric, sporting spiky feathered heads, and give out loud, gurgling sounds.

Wild garlic

While tree leaves are still in bud, or only just emerging in our woodlands, flowering plants such as wild garlic are making the most of the light and warmth that is penetrating the woodland floor across the city. Wild garlic, known as ramsons, permeates the air with its smell of garlic and makes a walk a more sensory experience. The plants have broad, shiny green leaves and small white flowers. They transform woodlands into a green and white carpet for only a short period. Leigh Woods, Blaise Castle Estate and other woodland spaces along the River Avon are ideal for seeing, and smelling, wild garlic throughout the spring.

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27/02/2013 17:46

Eating & drinking A guide to our favourite restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs

arnolfini

The barley mow

bordeaux Quay

Stylish, buzzing eatery situated on the ground floor of this leading centre for contemporary arts.

Arnolfini Cafe Bar serves up an Italian-inspired menu: find daily specials alongside boards of cheese and charcuterie, pizzette and puntini (Italian tapas), as well as delicious cakes and home-made ice creams – available to eat in or take home.

To drink, find great-value Italian wines made by small, independent producers, a small selection of seasonal cocktails, beers and ciders.

The Barley Mow was saved from redevelopment in 2008 by Bristol Beer Factory and is shortly to undergo a major transformation.

It will re-open in the spring, with a new bar offering an increased range of craft beers, lagers and ciders, an exciting new menu and improvements to the interior and courtyard garden.

This sprawling Harbourside destination serves up great-tasting dishes while keeping one eye on sustainable food practices, responsible energy use and zero waste principles. The staple ingredients on the menus are sourced from the West Country in an effort to minimise food miles. It’s the first eco-restaurant to achieve a gold rating under the Soil Association’s sustainable catering scheme and is winner of the Bristol Hospitality Restaurant of the Year Award.

Bright, buzzing café bar

Dishes: Eggs on sourdough toast; garlic, parsley and Parmesan pizzette; Italian charcuterie, artisan cheeses, salads and olives; cinnamon gelato Times: Mon 10am-6pm, Tue-Sat 10am10pm (food served until 8pm), Sun 10am-7pm (food served until 6pm) Book: cafebar@arnolfini.org.uk Offer: Arnolfini Cafe Bar serve free spuntini for early birds from 5.30pm.

Bristol Beer Factory’s flagship pub

Located only five minutes’ walk from Temple Meads station and Temple Quay Business Quarter, the Barley Mow is in an exciting area of the city that will see a major transformation under the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone plans.

Bristol Beer Factory’s plans are to create a destination pub offering the best range of craft beers in Bristol.

The redevelopment will retain many of the pubs features such as its open fire, wood panelling and exposed floorboards, but with a more contemporary feel.

Ethical restaurant, brasserie and deli

Dishes: Moules marinieres; aubergine linguine Sicilian-style; red wine-poached pear with a hazelnut cantuccini biscuit and mascarpone.

Times: restaurant: Sat 6-10pm, Sun 12-3pm; brasserie: MonSat 9-11.30am, 12-10.30pm, Sun 9-11.30am, 12-9pm; deli: Mon-Sat 9am-6pm, Sun 9am-4pm Book: brasserie@bordeaux-quay.co.uk, restaurant@bordeaux-quay.co.uk

16 Narrow Quay BS1 4QA 0117 917 2305

39 Barton Road, St Philips BS2 0LF 0117 930 4709

V Shed, Canons Way BS1 5UH 0117 943 1200

arnolfini.org.uk

barleymowbristol.com facebook.com/ barleymowbristol

bordeaux-quay.co.uk

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glassboat

Sophisticated bistro classics

lido restaurant, spa & pool

Mud dock Café & cycleworks

The Lido is a veritable oasis tucked within a courtyard of Georgian terraces in the back streets of Clifton. It is a unique location where chef Freddy Bird presides over two floors of poolside dining. Feast on wood-roasted scallops, lamb or venison in the first floor restaurant or enjoy the outdoor pool and an opportunity to soak up some sun on the terrace. The ground floor bar spills out on to the poolside in suitable weather. Open for breakfast and afternoon tea from 2.30-5.30pm.

A hip hang-out for the city’s cyclists since 1994, Mud Dock Café has more than its million-dollar views and rustic decor to thank for its legions of fans. Freshly prepared meals with a Mediterranean twist keep diners sated from sunup to sundown: favourites include the BIG breakfast to start, mushroom and baby spinach gnocchi with Stilton for lunch and the Mud Dock burger (made with locally sourced beef) for dinner. Head downstairs to the Cycleworks to find a range of bikes, secure bike shed, servicing and repairs, workshops, apparel and more.

European-inspired dishes

Located on the floating harbour in the heart of Bristol, Glassboat affords spectacular views of the city: bridges, churches and swans on the water. Whatever the celebration, small or large, with work or with loved ones, Glassboat remains the considered waterside restaurant of choice for Bristolians. Glassboat uses only the best local suppliers and cooks classic dishes simply: our own gravadlax, partridges, goose and sherry trifle will all feature this season. Groups of up to 40 can be accommodated on the lower deck, the ideal private space for your event.

Mediterranean menu

Dishes: Snails, bacon, cider; venison loin, celeriac puree, duxcel bon bon; Glassboat ice cream Times: lunch: Tue-Fri 12-2.30pm; dinner: Mon-Sat 5.30-10pm; Sunday lunch: 12-4pm.

Book: restaurant@glassboat.co.uk Offer: two-course lunch for £10

Dishes: Veal and prawn kofte, carrot and orange blossom salad; wood-roast hake, beetroot, ‘veiled’ nut and raisin pilaf; rhubarb, ginger and almond trifle Times: restaurant: 12-3pm and 6-10pm, closed Sun evening; spa: 7am-10pm; poolside bar: Mon-Sat from 8am, Sun from 9am Book: spa@lidobristol.com

Welsh Back BS1 4SB 0117 929 0704

Oakfield Place BS8 2BJ 0117 933 9530

40 The Grove, BS1 4RB 0117 934 9734

glassboat.co.uk

lidobristol.com

mud-dock.com

Dishes: Green shell mussels in a coconut chilli and fennel sauce; barley risotto with roasted squash, sage and almond; zesty orange bread and butter pudding Times: Café: Sun-Mon 10am-5pm, Tue-Thu 10am-10pm, Fri 10am-11pm, Sat 9am-11pm; Cycleworks: Mon-Fri 8.30am-6pm, Sat 9am-6pm Book: mail@mud-dock.co.uk

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mud dock deli

myristica

namaskar lounge

Mud Dock Café and Cycleworks’ sister establishment launched in late summer, taking up residence in a beautiful 19th-century stone building just behind M Shed. The Deli’s all-day menu is packed with scrumptious delights to eat in or take away for breakfast, lunch and supper, including freshly-baked cakes, pies, scotch eggs, pizza, fish and chips, sandwiches and wraps. Full brunches are served at weekends. Customers on the move can also find a deli on the ground floor selling a variety of produce.

Mud Dock Deli is also the perfect venue for private parties of up to 60.

Gazing serenely over Welsh Back, Myristica is one of the highlights of the harbour’s impressive dining landscape. The menu features a range of beautifully crafted dishes from across the Indian subcontinent.

Kick off with baby squid deep-fried and tossed with bell peppers, chilli flakes and honey, and move on to pista murgh (breast of chicken in a mild cream sauce with ground pistachios and saffron). Then round things off with a luxuriant chocolate samosa dessert and ice cream.

Myristica is now taking bookings for the Christmas season – call now to reserve your table!

The food of Mumbai inspires Namaskar! From the ingredients and recipes fine-tuned over generations to the mesmerising sight of the skilled Indian master chefs working their magic, Namaskar’s take on Indian food is modern and fresh. Head to the buzzing bar for a fantastic range of sparkling wines and champagne, cocktails, draught beers and more, then choose from a fantastic selection of contemporary Indian dishes.

Dishes: Breakfast butty; fish and chips; freshly baked cakes Times: Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, Sat 9am-7pm, Sun 9am-6pm.

Book: deli@mud-dock.co.uk

Dishes: Rabbit varuval; achari venison; okra stir fry; chocolate samosas Times: lunch: Mon-Fri 12-2pm; dinner: Mon-Sat 5.30-11.30pm, Sun 5.30-10.30pm (last orders at 10pm) Book: myristica.co.uk/contact.aspx

Cumberland Road BS1 6DS 0117 929 2141

51 Welsh Back BS1 4AN 0117 927 2277

Welsh Back BS1 4RR 0117 929 8276

mud-dock.com

myristica.co.uk

namaskarlounge.com

Eat in or take away

Fine Indian dining

Contemporary Indian cuisine

Dishes: Grilled quail in khada masala; lamb samosa; ajwani fish tikka; sea bass with spinach and asparagus Times: restaurant: Mon-Thu 1210.30pm, Fri-Sat 12-11pm, Sun 12-10.30pm; lounge bar: Mon-Thu 12-11pm, Fri-Sat 12pm-12am, Sun 1211pm. The restaurant is closed from 3-6pm every day.

Book: info@namaskarlounge.com

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Nova scotia

Unpretentious dockside pub

the rummer

Chic cocktail bar and restaurant

shakespeare tavern

Traditional Harbourside pub

A fabulous Harbourside boozer with tonnes of charm, the Nova Scotia serves up a great menu of no-frills belly-fillers that can be washed down with the tipple of your choice.

Choose from a range of real ales, traditional cider, wines, spirits and more. It’s a great spot for a Saturday afternoon drink when the weather is fine. If you’re quick, get comfy one of of the picnic benches. Otherwise, make like the rest of us and take a seat on the edge of the harbour wall. The Nova Scotia Folk Club runs every Monday night and is the longest running acoustic music club in Bristol. All performers are welcome to play and entry is £3.

The Rummer Hotel is an independent bar and restaurant located in the heart of the Old City Quarter. The stylish bar is one of the best stocked in the city, holding over 400 premium spirits from around the globe, and boasts an extensive cocktail list. Alternatively, choose from a range of bottled beers and wines. Head chef Greg McHugh serves modern British food on his lunch and evening menus. You can also find a steak evening every Wednesday and Sundays roasts. The present building has been known as The Rummer for over 200 years but its history goes back all the way to 1241, when the Greene Lattis inn was located on the site.

Dishes: Ox tongue in cheek; pheasant in three guises with celeriac; parsnip and white chocolate roulade Times: Mon-Thu 10am-11pm, Fri 10am-12am, Sat 11am-12pm, Sun 12pm-10.30am Book: info@therummer.co.uk

Nova Scotia Place, BS1 6XJ 0117 929 7994

All Saints Lane BS1 1JH 0117 929 0111

This beloved old harbour boozer serves up an appetising mix of traditional dishes and sharing platters, including winter warmers like baked Camembert and slowcooked pork belly. This Christmas, the Shakespeare is offering two courses for £12.95, and don’t forget to collect vouchers throughout December to make the most of the free drinks offers in January.

Behind the bar, find Shakespeare cask ale alongside Golden Hen and Kirin Ichiban. For the latest deals, you can follow the pub on Twitter or Facebook: @shakespearetav, facebook.com/theshakespearetavern Dishes: Cheesy garlic ciabatta; hunter’s chicken; Sunday roast; jam roly poly Times: Mon-Thu 11am-11pm, FriSat 11am-12am, Sun 12pm-11pm Book: facebook.com/ theshakespearetavern

68 Prince Street BS1 4QD 0117 929 7695

therummer.net

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spyglass

tobacco factory

Watershed CAFé/bar

A popular social hub in the heart of Southville. The solid, industrial interior of the large, contemporary Café Bar reflects the building’s history, and together with the music and lighting, ongoing art exhibitions and its young friendly staff, it has a great, welcoming atmosphere.

The open kitchen serves healthy British/Mediterranean-inspired food with evening and weekend specials updated to reflect the seasons. There are two outdoor areas – the covered terrace and the open air yard – and various events take place throughout the year, including Upfest and Factoberfest.

Open every day from early in the morning to late at night, Watershed Café/Bar offers breakfast, lunch and evening meals all following a simple policy: stay fresh, local and seasonal. The a ‘plot to plate’ policy means all ingredients are sourced from local suppliers, so you can eat a healthy, balanced menu while supporting the local economy. The bar stocks local favourites like Cotswold Lager and Cider, Arbor Ales and Bath Ales alongside a range of bottled drinks (which can be taken into the cinema), spirits, wines and hot and cold drinks. Free Wi-Fi is available to use throughout the Café/Bar.

Menu highlights: Goat’s cheese salad with honey-roasted vegetables; Pork shoulder marinated in cider; Moroccan fish stew with chick peas.

Opening times: Mon-Thu 12-11pm, Fri-Sat 12pm-12am, Sun 10am-11pm

Menu highlights: Battered whitebait; African beef ribs; Moroccan spiced lamb burger; Watershed fish and chips; homemade sorbet.

Opening times: Mon 10am-11pm, Tue-Fri 9.30am-11pm, Sat 10am-11pm, Sun 10am-10.30pm

Welsh Back BS1 4SB 0117 929 8276

Raleigh Road, BS3 1TF 0117 902 0060

1 Canons Road BS1 5TX 0117 927 5100

spyglassbristol.co.uk

tobaccofactory.com

watershed.co.uk

Barbecue boat

Contemporary café/bar

Spyglass, Bristol’s favourite waterside BBQ & Grill, offers delicious, simple, carefully sourced food at great value prices. A great central party venue for all occasions.

Using trusted local suppliers, burgers and hot dogs are made to Spyglass’s own recipes and all ice cream is made from scratch on the premises. Children can choose from a special Pirates’ Club Menu for only £5.00. You can also find jugs of sangria alongside local ale, cider and great quality wine at low prices.

The season re-opens April 2013.

Dishes: Sweetcorn fritters, Hot dogs, Burgers, Steaks, Whole grilled fish and Spyglass’s famous homemade ice cream.

Times: Mon-Sat 12pm-10.30pm, Sun 12pm-6pm.

Book: Spyglass has a non-reservation policy for groups of fewer than eight.

To book a table for eight or more, email groups@spyglassbristol.co.uk

Social space serving seasonal food

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Last word

Pete Singer

Long-serving Glassboat employee, rally enthusiast and “odd-job man”

“My favourite Bristol event is the bus rally at the Brislington park and ride site in the autumn”

Tell us about your role at Glassboat.

I’m the general odd-job man! I’ve worked for the company for 25 years and am responsible for cleaning and moving equipment and mail between the office and our three restaurants – Glassboat, Spyglass and Lido. I first got involved with the company through my son, Richard, who was working at Glassboat being mentored by Vince Castellano – our head chef at the time. I was at the drydocking of Glassboat, doing odd jobs for them while still employed as a lorry driver. Then, when I retired from driving, Arne gave me a job full-time.

annual event and buses and coaches come from all over the country to take part.

What one thing would help to improve Bristol’s Harbourside and city centre?

I should like to see it go back to its original setting with the boats coming right into the centre.

Where are some of your favourite places to eat?

I enjoy the food when we have parties in our restaurants.

When I take my wife out we like to go to pubs: the Huntsman at Downend and the Harvester at Frenchay.

Tell us about your favourite parts of Bristol.

My favourite view is of the Clifton Suspension Bridge seen from the Downs. And, of course, the view out of Glassboat, where my daughter got married. I’m most interested in Bristol’s pre-war cityscape and like to find old photographs of the city. I’m a member of the Severn Beach and Pilning local history group and we’re always looking for old pictures of the area. My favourite local event is the vintage bus rally at Brislington park and ride in the autumn. It’s an

Why do you think Glassboat is so popular?

I think a lot is due to the staff. Everyone’s welcoming and we’ve never had any trouble here. And, of course, we have good chefs. It’s probably got the best views in town and has a great history. I have a collection of photographs of Glassboat through the years: found as a wreck in the Severn Estuary, funded by food stalls at Glastonbury Festival, right through the development and so on.

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wapping wharf

car park Cheap City Parking Monday to Friday Up to 1 hour

Saturday 80p

1-2 hours

£1.50

2-4 hours

£3.80

Over 4 hours

£7

Week

£28

Month

£85

Any period

£2.50

Sunday & Bank Holidays Any period

£1.50

Special corporate rates available for 5 cars or more.

Monthly season ticket enquiries: 0207 563 3000

To all our customers, Please note that the car park will remain open and fully operational for at least the next two years whilst we build phase one of the Wapping Wharf Development.

We will keep you informed of progress.

sat nav: bs1 4rw www.wappingwharf.co.uk/cheapparking

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