Shipshape16 - Winter 2013/14 by Dan Pudsey

shipshape free

a guide to bristol in winter

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winter 04 Shipshape 16 winter 2013 Published by thegroupofseven.co.uk Enquiries: info@shipshapebristol.co.uk Past issues & galleries: shipshapebristol.co.uk Advertising: nigel@bud.uk.com 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 publication are strictly those of the authors. The publishers and/or any of its associated companies or business partners accept no responsibility for damage or loss, howsoever caused, arising directly or indirectly from reliance upon any information obtained from this publication. © The Group of Seven Ltd 2013 Archive images This issue of Shipshape features photographs from Bristol Record Office, which is based at B Bond Warehouse on the Floating Harbour. The record office holds archives documenting over 800 years of Bristol’s history and continues to collect and preserve material on all aspects of life in the city. For more information, visit www.bristol.gov.uk/recordoffice

In July 1915 a former Royal Mail Ship left Avonmouth bound for Gallipoli. She had 1,367 infantrymen, officers and members of the Royal Army Medical Corps aboard – a number of whom hailed from Bristol. A few weeks into her trip she was spotted by a German U-boat and torpedoed. She sank in little more than five or six minutes, leaving the sea strewn with wreckage and men. In the first of our series of features marking the centenary of World War One, Eugene Byrne shares the story of HMT Royal Edward – one of the greatest British maritime disasters of the Great War (page 36). 04 Shot! Photographs of America by Jade French and Phil Harris

28 Bold Market Looking at the past and future of the thriving Old Market Quarter

06 Tickets Music, comedy, art and events – filling your cultural calendar this winter

32 Gregory's girl Goldfrapp's Will Gregory talks to us about The Passion of Joan of Arc

10 Details People, performers and points of view

36 "The ship went down…" The story of HMT Royal Edward

24 City map Ways to navigate the city

40 Eating & drinking Restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs

27 Rhiannon Jones Trinity's programme manager talks us through the centre's refurbishment

46 My favourite things Foyles bookshop Bristol choose its top self-help books

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shot!

In their exhibition, The Long and W inding Road, photograph ers Jade French and Phil Harris shar e some of the images they captur ed on a road trip around the USA. H ere are some highlights...

Desert Santa by Phil Harris Harris discovered this Santa Claus in the Mojave, a rain-shadow desert where youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find the famous Joshua tree. The Long and Winding Road, The Folk House Cafe & Bar, 40a Park Street, Bristol BS1 7RZ, 29 Nov to 30 Dec. Contact jadefrench.com or curlyphil@weebly.com for further information 04 04 shipshape shipshape magazine magazine

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1. Alcatraz, San Francisco by Phil Harris Famed for its federal penitentiary, which operated there from 1934 to 1963, the Rock is also home to Civil Warera buildings, rare flowers and plants, and sea birds. 2. Cafe, Salton Sea by Jade French Salton Sea is one of the largest inland seas in the world. During the 1950s it became a popular holiday resort,

attracting visitors from nearby Los Angeles, including the Rat Pack. However, in the following years, the salinity of the water increased due to runoff from agriculture and a lack of freshwater inlets. The sea became polluted, the fish died and almost everyone left. Now, only a few inhabitants remain, living “in relatively nice houses” among the debris of abandoned neighbourhoods, says French.

3. Des Res, Salton Sea by Jade French “What we found weird was that the derelict properties had just been left to decay,” says French, “as if people just decided not to return and left everything behind – magazines, clothes, furniture, TVs…”

5. Sequoia National Park by Phil Harris A shot of the sequoia tree in Sequoia National Park, California – home to the largest tree in the world. 6. Bleached bones by Jade French A deserted and decayed car seen on Route 66.

4. Sante Fe Railroad by Phil Harris A locomotive seen on the historic Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.

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tickets Arts, culture and family trips around the city

Architecture Centre

arnolfini

At-bristol

Christmas Design Temporium to 22.12.13 / Pop-up festive shop staffed by local artist-makers selling gifts, jewellery, prints, ceramics and cards.

Bookshop Evenings 12.12.13 & 19.12.13 / Two late-night shopping evenings. Bookshop open until 8pm, with 10% discount off everything.

At-Bristol’s Ice Rink to 05.01.14 / Get your skates on for the Harbourside’s first-ever ice rink. Closed Christmas Day and Boxing Day. £7.50/£6.50 concs/£5.50 children.

Contemporary arts centre

Science discovery centre

Championing better buildings

Room 13: Future City to 22.12.13 / Young artists from Room 13 (Hareclive School, Hartcliffe) take over the gallery with works focused on the theme of the Ambitious City. Enrique Sobejano 11.12.13 / Sobejano presents recent work from his renowned Spanish practice. Lecture at Arnolfini. Hidden Process 08.01.14-19.01.14 / Concept sketches, design drawings and key construction details revealing the creative process behind various projects by local architects. RIBA International Awards 22.01.14-19.04.14 / Celebrating work done by members of the Royal Institute of British Architects around the world. This show presents the 12 international awards given in 2013.

Festive Family Film Screening 28.12.13 / Monthly film screening for families. Features The Polar Express and The Bear. Joëlle Tuerlinckx: Wor(l)d(k) in Progress? 07.12.13-16.03.14 / Major solo show for this Belgian conceptual artist who poses formal, physical and social conundrums. Paul Lytton, Tim Hodgkinson, Dominic Lash, Denman Maroney 08.01.14 / Four innovative composers, improvisers and musical innovators meet. Keith Rowe, Lee Patterson, Patrick Farmer 12.02.14 / Three of the most influential names in improvised music come together for this one-off event.

Mars Lab from 07.01.14 / Investigate the planet Mars: design your own Mars Rover and put it to the test on a recreated Martian landscape. Toddler Takeover: Crazy Creatures 17.01.14 / Regular day dedicated to under-fives. Create a brightly coloured bug accessory to wear home, flap your wings and more. After Hours: Love 14.02.14 / Take a romantic trip to the stars in the Planetarium, dissect a real heart and more. 6.30-10pm. £7/£6 members & concessions. Winter Night Sky Planetarium Show from 02.12.14 / Take a tour of the winter night sky.

Young People’s Festival of Ideas: Class and Education 22.01.14 / Is education widening the class divide?

Little Stars Planetarium Show / Under-fives planetarium show. Weekends and school holidays, 2pm.

Narrow Quay, BS1 4QA 0117 922 1540

16 Narrow Quay, BS1 4QA 0117 917 2300

Anchor Road, bs1 5db 0845 345 1235

architecturecentre.co.uk

arnolfini.org.uk

at-bristol.org.uk

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bristol ferry boats Scheduled ferry services and special interest trips

Sail with Santa 07, 08, 14, 15 & 21-24.12.13 / Hunt for Santa on the dockside. Plus gifts for the little ones and mince pies and sherry for the adults. 45-min cruises, 1pm, 2pm & 3pm. 45 mins, £10 per person. Christmas Ferry Fairy 07, 08, 14, 21 & 22.12.13 / Magical festive tales from the madcap ferry fairy. Departs city centre 10.30am, lasts 1hr. £5. Private trips / Works do, birthday, wedding, quiz night, hen party… book a trip on one of BFB’s comfortable heated boats. Prices from £270 for 2 hours. Educational trips / One-hour harbour tour, with full commentary tailored to each group’s interests. From £120. Quiz nights alternate Thursdays / Full bar on board, two-hour harbour cruise. 8-10pm, departs Arnofini. £5 per head: booking essential. Ferry services run every day except Christmas Day.

Christmas at the Spiegeltent

City Sightseeing Bristol

This magnificent venue runs throughout December for Christmas parties, markets, live music, comedy and cabaret events. The Spiegeltent is a glorious round mahogany structure decked with carvings, stained glass and draped ceiling a unique and magical setting.

Entertaining, informative open-top bus tours run at weekends until 22 Dec, returning on 1 Feb for weekends and half term: daily services resume in April.

Pop-up Harbourside venue

Christmas Parties / The Christmas party nights are booking now. A Right Royale Knees Up features international cabaret acts, threecourse dinner, live band and dancing until late. You can’t ask more than that for your Christmas shindig! Various dates still available, tickets from £55 per head. Spiegeltent Christmas Markets / Open every weekend throughout December selling all things retro, vintage and handmade. Open until 22 Dec. Turn to page 16 to read our interview with programmer Steve Symons

Harbourside 0117 927 3416

Waterfront Square

bristolferry.com

christmasspiegeltent.co.uk

Absorbing, informative open-top bus tours

Twilight Illuminations Tour 07, 14 & 21.12.13 / Enjoy a twilight bus journey through Bristol’s vivid and eclectic landscape. £12 adult/£2 child/family and concessions available. Tours depart 4.30pm from Stop 1, Broad Quay. Hop On, Hop Off tickets Explore all 21 stops and enjoy discounts on attractions and eateries around town. Bus/Boat Combo 1 Day Ticket £12/£11 NUS & OAP/£2 children/£26 family (up to three children). 24 Hour Ticket £15/£13 NUS & OAP/£2 children/£32 family £32 (up to three children).

NB: new prices from Feb 2014.

07425 788 123

Harbourside off Canons Way

Bristol BS1 5LL 0117 3789663 citysightseeingbristol.co.uk

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colston hall

st george’s bristol

spike island

The Best of the West End 07.12.13 / Four of the West End’s brightest stars join the orchestra of the Welsh National Opera for this night of showstopping numbers.

Paul Lewis 10.01.14 / Talented pianist returns for a programme including Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata.

David Batchelor: Flatlands to 26.01.14 / Artist known for his colourful sculptural installations returns to his roots in drawing and painting – and explores his fascination with colour (pictured).

Premier live performance venue

New Year’s Eve Party with Bellowhead 31.12.13 / With performances from Spiro, Brass Roots and the acclaimed nu-folk troupe Bellowhead (pictured), this should be a party to remember. Cass McCombs 08.01.14 / Acclaimed singer-songwriter brings his “painfully personal and cosmically universal” sound for an intimate show in The Lantern. Russian Masters 16.01.14 / An English orchestra, an American conductor and a Belfast-born pianist tackle a varied, all-Russian programme including Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich and Rimsky-Korsakov. Alex Horne 05.02.14 / Porky pies aplenty from the triple Perrierwinning comedian in new show Lies.

World-class music venue and concert hall

Olivia Chaney 16.01.14 / Rising star of the UK’s new-folk scene, with support from Bristol troubadour Joe Volk. Dhol Foundation 02.02.14 / Bhangra dance and drumming spectacular, as seen at the Olympics Closing Ceremony. Alain de Botton 05.02.14 / Popular philosopher examines our troubled relationship with the news. Bill Callahan 06.02.14 / Former Smog frontman presents tunes from his latest, highly-acclaimed album. Police Dog Hogan 07.02.14 / Seven-piece Americana and country harmony outfit. Ruthie Henshall 13.02.14 / Musical theatre star (pictured) revisits her career in conversation and song. John Renbourn & Wizz Jones 27.02.14 / Seminal guitar duo.

Contemporary art and design exhibitions and events

I Am Making Art 07.12.13 / Monthly hands-on activity session for all ages and abilities. Learn to screen-print your own Christmas cards using cut paper stencils. 12-4pm: free, drop in. Behind the Scenes Studio Visits 14.12.13 / Artists open up their studios and invite debate and discussion. This month’s open-house artists are Luke Jerram and Sam Cotterell. 2pm: free, booking advised. Cevdet Erek 15.02.14-20.04.14 / Solo show for this Turkish artist interested in how we organise our lives through measurements of space and time. Emptyset 21.02.14 / Live gig from this Bristol/London act, whose immersive, spatial electronic sounds and visuals will draw on Cevdet Erek’s exhibition.

Colston St, BS1 5AR 0844 887 1500

Great George St, BS1 5RR 0845 402 4001

133 Cumberland Rd, BS1 6UX 0117 929 2266

colstonhall.org

stgeorgesbristol.co.uk

spikeisland.org.uk

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tobacco factory theatres

trinity centre

watershed

Sheelanagig and Friends 17.12.13 / Infectious, Balkan-inspired grooves. Plus Ewan McLennan, Kidnap Alice and stand-up Elvis McGonagal.

Christmas Art Market 07.12.13 / Arts, crafts, live music, food and mulled wine and cider. 11am-5pm.

The Illusionist 22.12.13 / Sylvain Chomet’s follow-up (pictured) to The Triplets of Belleville.

Normal Service Will be Resumed 10.01.14-25.01.14 / Song-filled comedy set in Sixties Bristol (pictured).

Teachings in Dub 13.12.13 & 31.12.14 / Bristol’s number one Dubwise event, with two soundsystems cranking out dub reggae until 5am.

Hugo 3D 29.12.13 / Martin Scorsese’s film follows an orphan’s quest to solve a mystery left behind by his father.

Logic of Nothing 27.01.14-01.02.14 / A mix of clowning, juggling, magic and invention in this tale of an obsessive compulsive hoarder. 50 mins: ages 6+.

City Rockas Christmas Special 14.12.13 / City Rockas & guest DJs bring to you a mix of soul, rare groove and revival reggae.

Finding Joy 30.01.14-01.02.14 / Follows the relationship between a fun-loving woman who is losing her memory and her rebellious grandson.

Flaming Feathers Christmas Cabaret 21.12.13 / Burlesque, cabaret and vintage dancing (pictured), with 1940s harmony trio The Marionettes.

Infinite Lives 05.02.14-15.02.14 / Erotic, numerical and technological journey into our increasingly virtual world.

New Year’s Eve Fundraiser 31.12.13 / NYE party and Trinity fundraiser. Features sets from Bristol soul/jazz/ drum’n’bass hybridists Dr Meaker and the brilliant dub-ska collective Babyhead.

Music, arts and community centre

Nationally renowned theatres

As You Like It 13.02.14-22.03.14 / See page 23. Tea Time 18.02-23.02.14 / A celebration of mealtimes through words, song, music and dance.

Planet Shroom 25.01.14 / Psychedelia/trance club night. See page 27 for our interview with Trinity’s Rhiannon Jones.

World-renowned arts and new media centre

12 Years A Slave opens 24.01.14 / Steve McQueen’s acclaimed account of slavery in pre-Civil War USA. Inside Llewyn Davis opens 24.01.14 / A week in the life of a young, aspiring folk singer as he navigates the Greenwich Village folk scene of 1961. Slapstick Festival 24-26.01.14 / Silent and visual comedy festival returns to venues across town. Film, live music, celebrity performers and more. Filmic from Feb 2014 / Celebrating the complex cross-pollination between film and music. Coen Brothers Brunches Feb 2014 / Screenings of Coen classics. Japan Film Foundation Tour Feb 2014 / Touring festival of films examines the reinvention of Japan’s past.

Raleigh Rd, BS3 1TF 0117 902 0344

Trinity Rd, BS2 0NW 0117 935 1200

1 Canons Rd, bs1 5TX 0117 927 5100

tobaccofactorytheatres.com

3ca.org.uk

watershed.co.uk

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highbrow / lowbrow Paul Bradley Musician with acclaimed Bristol multi-instrumental acoustic trio Three Cane Whale

Gurt Magnificent People This rousing event sees three of the region’s best choirs sharing the stage at Colston Hall

On Saturday 8 February, three of the South West’s best community choirs will join forces at Colston Hall for an evening of eclectic and exhilarating song from around the world. The line-up includes Bristol’s Gurt Lush Choir (pictured), which, despite being just four years old, is already one of the UK’s largest choirs with over 300 members. “Our eclectic repertoire includes folk, classical, opera, gospel and pop in various languages,” reveals Gurt Lush’s Rachel Mepsted. In the last year, the choir has tackled Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera The Mikado, performed with full orchestra and professional soloists, and a suite of Romanyinspired music. For the Colston Hall event, Gurt Lush will be returning to its more traditional a cappella

collection of music from around the world and down the centuries. Lowering the tone with their deep, Georgian-inspired harmonies and serious silliness, the Magnificent AK47 call themselves “probably the best all-bloke singing troupe ever to escape from the depths of northwest Wiltshire”. We wouldn’t dare to disagree. And finally, Bristol’s 140-strong People of Note will draw on its broad repertoire of pop, world music, classical and contemporary choral music. Gurt Lush have recently become something of a YouTube sensation, thanks to their interpretation of the Croatian song Dani Su Bez Broja (see bit.ly/HTi4H6) “We’ve had tens of thousands of hits, many of them surprised Croatians,” says Mepsted. more colstonhall.org

“My guiltless intellectual binge is delivered by BBC Radio 3. The peerless Third Programme fills my addict’s yearnings for music that’s not popular, for drama you must concentrate on, for arts/culture discussion shows that make R4’s Front Row seem tabloid. For its peerless willingness to air new, “hard”, atonal music and for R3’s lifesaving serving of artmusic without fecking adverts! “Lowbrow only to the narrow or closedminded, to the bloodless who can never understand: this is my lifelong, antidoteless infatuation with Celtic Football Club, whom I’ve followed since I was five. The first non-Latin club champions of Europe, originally founded as a charity for desperate, demonised Irish immigrants in Glasgow, Celtic FC is the mass-cultural avatar of the global success-survival of the Irish diaspora. Of which your wretched contributor is one. And proud.” Three Cane Whale perform at St George’s Bristol on Thu 23 Jan, stgeorgesbristol.co.uk

W h at t h e f r o c k ! All-female comedy night What the Frock! returns to the Mauretania on Park Street with two gigs. On Friday 17 January WTF! welcomes actress, comic, musician and improviser Rachel Parris (pictured) alongside Cecilia Delatori, a poet and musical comic whose one-woman show Tonight I’m Entertaining Richard Gere won a Scotsman Fringe First in 2009. Guests on Friday 21 February include former Funny Women champ Suzy Bennett and rising Icelandic comic Sola Ludviksdottir. Both nights are compèred by Wottonunder-Edge’s effervescent Cerys Nelmes. more whatthefrockcomedy.co.uk 10 shipshape

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OLD MARKET QUARTER BS2 independent & bohemian quarter www.oldmarketquarter.co.uk

Bristolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gay Village

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Old Market Arcade

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details News and views from across the city

ask Andy Hamilton The local author, forager and brewer has just released Brewing Britain: the Quest for the Perfect Pint and How to Make It – and created a special Brewing Britain beer in collaboration with Bath Ales

Tell us about your collaboration with Bath Ales.

It’s a Scotch ale, made with smoked malt and whirlpooled with juniper berries. I knew I wanted to brew a beer commercially, and I’d decided that Shane O’Beirne at Bath Ales’ experimental arm Beerd was a perfect match. He’s one of the brewers to watch, pushing the boundaries of UK brewing. I smoked some of the malt in two handmade smokers in a friend’s and my back gardens. The juniper was foraged from my garden, which sits atop a hill overlooking the Cotswolds (and Bath Ales Brewery). The berries impart a warming, smoky flavour, with comforting sweet roasted chocolate notes. You’ve travelled Britain’s brewing landscape: where did you find the best ales?

Yorkshire and London both top the class, partly because their natural water supplies suit certain styles – bitters in Yorkshire, darker beers and porters in London. However, as most modern

breweries treat their water before brewing, water quality isn’t the factor it once was. The most important factor is a good regional brewing culture. Both London’s and Yorkshire’s brewers support each other and exchange ideas.

by the churchwardens. Nowadays, I think people are drinking less massproduced lager beer and returning to good beer, made well by brewers who care. Most of the breweries I visited were stepping up production.

How easy is it to grow your own hops and brew your own ale?

Where do you drink around these parts?

If your garden has good soil and the right light, hops will grow well. Ladybirds are good pest controllers, and picking off the lower leaves reduces mildew. When it comes to brewing, talk to other brewers. The book is full of recipes from renowned brewers and award-winning home brewers alike. Your book seeks to understand beer and its place in Britain. What is that place?

Beer has always been very important. Before we could treat water, everyone drank beer all day – even children. Later, ales were brewed to mark every occasion – lambing ales, bride ales, even a church ale brewed up

I love getting up to Beerd and the Robin Hood on St Michaels Hill. Cotham has plenty of decent boozers – see also the Hillgrove and Hare on the Hill. The Famous Royal Navy Volunteer (King Street) has a terrific array of beer and is child-friendly during the day. Bristol has great boozers across town – see also the Bag O’ Nails, Three Tuns and the Adam and Eve (all Hotwells), Barley Mow (St Philips), Miners Arms (St Werburghs), Volunteer Tavern (Old Market), Seven Stars (Redcliffe), Star and Dove and The Oxford (Totterdown) and The Old Stillage (Redfield) – all invaluable during my research! more

theotherandyhamilton.com

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highbrow / lowbrow Mark Cosgrove Watershed Cinema Curator

Christmas theatre A more than usually eclectic range of festive theatre awaits Bristol audiences throughout December and into January The Tobacco Factory Theatres have a brace of fine-looking shows tailored to younger and older children respectively. Their main theatre hosts The Last Voyage of Sinbad the Sailor (to 12 Jan, pictured), a co-production with Bristol’s ace children’s theatre troupe Travelling Light. “Everyone has this image of Sinbad as a swashbuckling devil-may-care, handsome chap with a winning smile and a bag of treasure,” explains director Craig Edwards. “Our production, though, tells Sinbad’s secret story.” Down the road at The Brewery acclaimed physical comedy duo Rannel Theatre Company present a show devised for ages 2-6, combining music, movement, silliness and a touch of magical mayhem. The stars of Super Sam

and Mega Max Save Christmas (11 Dec-5 Jan) are two boys trying to get ready for Chrimbo – but meeting with a succession of comic mishaps. More irreverent fare, and strictly for adults only, is Se7en Dwarfs (11-22 Dec, at the bijou Wardrobe Theatre above Kingsdown’s White Bear pub): a darkly comic, anti-Chrimbo pantomime to serve as an antidote to the season’s usual sickly-sweet entertainment. We’re promised a satanic merging of the classic family fairy tale Snow White and David Fincher’s cult 1995 horror/thriller Se7en, with its trail of murders inspired by the seven deadly sins. Season’s greetings and all that…

“I’m very much looking forward to seeing Steve McQueen’s film 12 Years a Slave when it comes to us towards the end of January. McQueen brings to his film-making all the rigour and detail of his visual art. While the subject matter of his new film is an American story, it will have some obvious resonances for Bristol audiences.” “Learning the chords to the latest One Direction song to sing along with (and impress) my daughters.” more

watershed.co.uk

tobaccofactorytheatres.com; thewardrobetheatre.com

silent comedy gala Colston Hall’s Silent Comedy Gala (Fri 24 Jan) is a fundraiser for the brilliant Slapstick Festival and will feature a screening of Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights with a live orchestral score by The Bristol Ensemble. Chaplin’s 1931 classic, regularly voted one of the greatest films of all time, follows the Tramp as he falls in love with a blind girl and develops a turbulent friendship with an alcoholic millionaire. The evening will be hosted by Omid Djalili (pictured). more colstonhall.org 13 shipshape

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The family that plays together Dinosaurs come back to life, bubbles burst into flames and the Pied Piper gets a new lease of life in this winter’s family-friendly cultural calendar Words Mark Sayers Circus

Head down to Creative Common, the colourful temporary performance space near Temple Meads, this Christmas to catch Gerry Cottle’s Turbo Circus in action from 17 Dec5 Jan. You’ll find a packed bill of 50 circus acts in just 100 minutes – among them featuring sky-high daredevils, rock ’n’ roll skaters, illusionists, acrobats, jugglers and comedy chaos. Cottle, who retired in 2003 and bought Somerset’s Wookey Hole Caves, has reformed his hugely popular circus for this final tour, to celebrate 50 years in show business. more creativecommon.co.uk

Science

Who doesn’t love bubbles? During weekends and school holidays from 18 Jan, At-Bristol’s brandnew science show Bubble Blast! investigates the science of these spherical, technicolour marvels as they float, pop or – yikes – burst in to flames in the At-Bristol studio. Mess with mixtures to make the perfect bubble, meet some variations that you certainly wouldn’t want in your bath and find bubbles in some unexpected places. more at-bristol.org.uk

New Bristol theatre company Dot & Ethel take their bow at the lovely Wardrobe Theatre up in Kingsdown, with a retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Match Girl (10-22 Dec). The duo have teamed up with puppeteers and music makers to create a magical, festive version of Andersen’s touching tale. When a little girl leaves her home on New Year’s Eve to sell matches on the city streets, she opens the door to adventures, challenges, visions – and a new beginning. Suitable for ages 3+.

Dinosaurs

more thewardrobetheatre.com

The Piper (St George’s Bristol, 21 Feb) is a playful interpretation of the much-loved folk tale The Pied Piper of Hamelin, featuring storytelling, theatre, live music and visuals. The Mayor of Hamelin has a big problem – but help seems to be at hand in the shape of a stranger, dressed in a coat half of yellow and half of red, with a plan to rid the town of rats. Jump on board the rat-mobile to meet German folk, a tribe of alien people in Transylvania, as well as the Cham of Tartary and the Nizam of Asia. 60 minutes: suitable for ages 6-10.

Dinophiles young and old should roar into action and snap up tickets for Dinosaur Zoo (19 Feb, Colston Hall), a live-action show bringing these awesome prehistoric creatures to the stage. From cute baby dinos to teeth-gnashing giants, a series of astonishingly lifelike (and, ulp, lifesize) manipulated puppet dinos will take to the stage, complete with some informative live commentary. Nippers can get as close to the dinos as they like – or cower back in the seats. The most recent addition to the cast is the Australovenator – the most complete meat-eating dinosaur skeleton yet found in the Zoo’s native Australia.

more stgeorgesbristol.co.uk

more colstonhall.org

Storytelling

Theatre

Art & craft

Join Arnolfini’s learning team on the last Saturday of each month to explore the arts centre’s current exhibitions and events via some exciting family activities. Get creative and join in with engaging, fun, practical activities such as gigantic drawings, 3D collages and artist-led workshops. Don’t forget to drop into the Light Studio and see what fantastic creations you can make. The sessions are most suitable for ages five and above, but anyone is welcome to come along and flex their creative muscles. 1-5pm: free. more arnolfini.org.uk

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Clockwise from this pic: The LIttle Match Girl, The Piper, Dinosaur Zoo, arts and craft at Arnolfini, AtBristol’s Bubble Blast! and Gerry Cottle’s Turbo Circus

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indulge Christmas at the Spiegeltent The elegant Spiegeltent returns to Lloyds Amphitheatre this month: an opulent, mahogany- and mirror-clad performance venue, jam-packed with top cabaret, comedy, music, markets and more. We grab a few words with programmer Steve Symons

Good to see you again this year.

We had such a successful debut event in Bristol last year that we decided to bring the Spiegeltent back this Christmas. To be honest we didn’t get everything right last year, from slightly dodgy heating and toilets to a comedy programme that had a sizeable financial let-down. So we wanted to come back and nail it this time. In terms of the programming, the infrastructure and some rather lovely additions (a fairground, for example), we think we have something really special this year. Give us a little history lesson, if you would…

Spiegeltents were built in the Netherlands and Belgium in the late19th century, as travelling ballrooms that would follow fairs around. Constructed from rich mahogany, coloured glass and canvas, they were the original pop-up venues. ‘Spiegel’ means mirror, and the central attraction of mirrors was that you could discreetly eye up members of the opposite sex. So you have well over a century’s worth of history of rakish adult pleasure attached to these gorgeous venues. There are maybe 12 original spiegeltents still in existence, all travelling the world. This year Bristol is getting the largest and most opulent available, joining an

exclusive client list that includes the Dutch royal family. What sort of feel are you aiming at with the programme?

Christmas is a magical time for children, but as an adult the commercial and logistical imperatives of the festive season can feel a little overwhelming. The Spiegeltent redresses the balance and allows a bit of seasonal magic for the grown-ups. One of the key lessons we learned was that while you still need a wide ranging and inclusive programme, the acts that work best are ones that resonate in these unique environments. How about some highlights?

The Brechtian gypsy cabaret of the Tiger Lillies (Sun 1 Dec), those oh-soinnocent but very saucy Puppini Sisters (Mon 9 Dec) and The Masquerade Ball (Sat 21 Dec) featuring Bristol’s favourite walkabout theatre folk The Carny Villains, all absolutely embody the Spiegeltent vibe. Even charttopping pop acts like Deaf Havana (Wed 4 Dec) and The Magic Numbers (Sun 15 Dec) will give audiences an unplugged, intimate set like they’ve never done before. more

christmasspiegeltent.co.uk

D av i d b at c h e l o r at s p i k e i s l a n d Spike Island hosts a solo show this winter for David Batchelor, an artist best known for his vividly-coloured sculptural installations of illuminated light boxes, industrial dollies and other found objects. Batchelor started out, however, in drawing and painting, and this exhibition is the first in-depth presentation of this type of work – you’ll

find nearly 150 works on show. Colour is a major theme of the exhibition – and, indeed, has been Batchelor’s obsession these past 20 years. We’re not talking the colours of nature here: rather, the synthetic hues of the illuminated street sign and the lurid glare of the nocturnal metropolis. Using both conventional materials

(pencil, ink, pastel, gouache) and more leftfield media such as highlighter pen, spray and industrial tape, Batchelor’s works show how formal rigour and a modernist aesthetic can still result in intense, exuberant colour.

Incidentally, the show gets its title from Edwin A Abbott’s 1884 novella Flatland, in which a two-dimensional square explores the realms of one and three dimensions, thus learning how hard it is to empathise with others’ experiences. Quite so. The show runs until 26 Jan. more

spikeisland.org.uk

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B r i sto l record office Online catalogue: archives.bristol.gov.uk www.bristol.gov.uk/recordoffice t: 0117 922 4224 e: bro@bristol.gov.uk B Bond Warehouse smeaton road Bristol Bs1 6XN

28/11/2013 16:03

details

see

Live music at No.1 Harbourside This welcoming Harbourside café/bar hosts live music on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9.30pm, and Fridays and Saturdays from 11pm. Forthcoming highlights include:

Altered States This themed group exhibition features some of the regular exhibitors at View, one of Bristol’s more adventurous and thought-provoking modern art galleries

Hot Tin Roofs Sat 14 Dec Stylish sextet exploring the point where swing met jump blues and rock ’n’ roll began to take shape – think Slim Harpo, Ruth Brown and others.

owing something to Cubism and Vorticism, and Mr Mead, whose ghoulish characters suggest a macabre humour. Elsewhere, sought-after Dutch sculptor Cedric Laquieze uses an eclectic range of organic materials to create his beautiful, fanciful pieces – including a skull comprised entirely of foliage; Robert Bradford’s playful sculptures are created with thousands of plastic toys; and Ryan Hadley explores the (im) permanence of art via the medium of rust. Pictured here is Cyber Dogs, Finn Stone’s comic take on technology. The exhibition runs until Sunday 5 January at View, 159-161 Hotwell Road, Bristol. more

viewartgallery.co.uk

Fromage en Feu Sat 21 Dec Bristol-based acoustic sextet romp their way through tunes from klezmer to café culture, via the Balkans. Talisman Sat 18 Jan One of the greatest of Bristol’s conscious reggae bands to emerge in the 1970s, Talisman still capture the fresh, dubwise sounds of that era. Classic cuts like Dole Age fuse Caribbean culture with seventies high-rise Britain. Railroad Bill Sat 15 Feb Homespun skiffle outfit from Cardiff (pictured), rendering old-time folk club favourites with washboard and tea-chest bass. more no1harbourside.co.uk; thehottinroofs.co.uk; fromageenfeu. eu; talismanreggae.com; skiffle.co.uk

Pic: Andrew Jefferey

Altered States examines the fraught relationship between man and nature, organic and mechanic, natural and artificial. “The show seeks to explore the interaction between the human race and the elements, living with and fighting against each other,” explains View’s Georgie Davidson. “Destructive acts of nature, personal and sentimental connections, and a spiritual awareness of nature reclaiming back its original state all feature. The works in the exhibition make us question our position in this world – and open our eyes to the bigger picture.” Prominent names from Bristol’s art community taking part include Thomas Dowdeswell, a painter of colourful, angular abstract works

river cottage canteen Tue 7 Jan sees the return of Clifton’s River Cottage Canteen’s popular seasonal vegetarian and vegan evening, Veg Out. The menu includes helpful hints and tips on growing seasonal veg at home. A week later, Spice Night (Tue 14) will feature a menu of traditional Moroccan dishes with a River Cottage twist. more rivercottage.net/canteens/bristol/ 18 shipshape

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V I TA L S TAT I S T I C S

Bristol Ferry Boats One year on from its rebirth, we look at a year in the life of Bristol’s yellow and blue boats

35 years Length of time Bristol Ferry Boats (BFB) operated in the docks before going into administration in December 2012

Time of the first ferry departure from Temple Quay. The final ferry of the day terminates at 18.15 in the city centre

The consortium appeals to the public to buy shares in the nascent business from between £100 and £500

£250k Target set to be raised by the share offer £100 min investment £1000 max investment

£60,000

Amount raised by the consortium in its first week of fundraising

Duration in hours of the Ferry Boats’ Grand Tour, which takes you from Bristol harbour down to Sea Mills

£55

Children aged five or under travel free

The number of local business people who come together to buy BFB’s vessels and save the service

3½

09.55

20 minutes

Journey time from Temple Quay to the city centre

£1

Cost to all Bristol City Council employees for any one-way journey

£90,000

Amount raised over the target

364

871

Bristol Ferry Boats (BFB) – a community benefit society – launches in May 2013 and is now owned by almost 900 passengers, crew and friends

Cost of a family ticket (2 adults and 3 children) on expert Ed Drewitt’s Waterside Wildlife trip

Number of days a year that BFB runs a ferry service

Total number of employees in the summer

Number of boats in BFB’s fleet: Brigantia, Matilda, Emily, Independence and Margaret

£10

The cost of a weekly ‘clippy’ ticket for commuters

430 miles

Total miles travelled in one week more

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bristolferry.com

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details

shop Christmas markets There’s a bumper crop of indie festive markets and gift fairs in Bristol this Christmas. Here are a few highlights… Festive Fair Fri 6 (4-9pm) & Sat 7 Dec (10am-5pm), Create, Smeaton Rd, createbristol.org

Eco gifts, crafts, family fun, plus workshops: turn an old book or mag into sparkling baubles or create edible and decorative festive crafts.

the walls of the listed building will be covered with work by local artists. There’ll also be live music, a bar selling mulled drinks and food stalls. Made in Bristol Gift Fair Sat 14 Dec, Colston Hall, handmadeinbristol.co.uk

Affordable gifts, all handmade in Bristol by local designer-makers Back for a fifth year with more great (including Chris Dickason, whose arts, crafts, live music and festive food. pirate tea towel is pictured), can be found over four floors of Colston Harbourside Christmas Market Hall’s foyer space. Christmas Art Market Sat 7 Dec, Trinity, 3ca.org.uk

Thu 12-Sun 15 Dec & Thu 19-Sun 22 Dec, Canons Rd, facebook.com/ harboursidemarket

An eclectic indoor market, brought to you by the team behind the excellent weekend Harbourside Markets, taking place in the former Chicago Rock Café. Around 30 stalls will sell local produce and handcrafted wares, and

Broadmead Christmas Markets to Sun 22 Dec, Broadmead, bristolgermanchristmasmarket.co.uk

Those quaint wooden chalet-style stalls are back plying their usual mix of gifts, crafts and German-themed food and drink. Don’t miss the neighbouring Local Producers’ and Craft Market.

Christmas Design Temporium to Sun 22 Dec, Architecture Centre, Narrow Quay, handmadeinbristol.co.uk

Christmas pop-up shop, showcasing beautifully designed gifts by both Bristol’s best artists and designermakers and top designers from elsewhere across the UK. Paper Scissors Stone to Tue 24 Dec, Quakers Friars, handmadeinbristol.co.uk

A range of colourful, eclectic, handmade gifts by talented artists and designers from across the region.

arnolfini Pick of the winter programme at Arnolfini is a major solo show for Belgian conceptual artist Joëlle Tuerlinckx (pictured). In her films, sculptures, public projects, and extensive publications, Tuerlinckx looks at unlikely spaces and substances, posing formal, physical and social conundrums. Wor(l)d(k) in

Progress? (7 Dec-16 Mar), her biggest UK show to date, includes works from across her 20-year career. Tuerlinckx’s work has a sensual approach, with its precise use of materials, colours and abstract shapes resulting in expansive, complex installations. Staying with Arnolfini, we also like the look of the

Howling Owl Records night on Sat 18 Jan. Howling Owl is a forward-looking Bristol label whose affiliates (and guests on the night) include Vessel, a respected name in Bristol’s fruitful electronic music scene; Giant Swan, who carve and sculpt beats and drone

using two guitars and a plethora of pedals; and Oliver Wilde, purveyor of woozy, cinematic anthems. more

arnolfini.org.uk

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Myristica wins awards Congratulations to Bristol restaurant Myristica, which has finished the year with two awards in its display cabinet. On 31 October it scooped the Best Restaurant award at the inaugural Asian Food Awards held in Cardiff. Then, after six years of trying, Myristica was finally named Best Restaurant in the South West at the ‘curry Oscars’ – the British Curry Awards, held on 25 November in a ceremony hosted by Chris Tarrant. A Shipshape favourite from Myristica’s authentic, region-specific menu is dhaba murgh, a rustic chicken curry made with onions, tomatoes, yogurt and fresh coriander – and traditionally a roadside hit with India’s famished night lorry drivers. more

myristica.co.uk

BristolCon Fringe at Shakespeare Tavern Friendly and historic harbourside boozer the Shakespeare Tavern offers something a little different on Monday 16 December with an evening of speculative fiction by authors Joanne Hall and Kevlin Henney. It’s part of a series of readings organized by BristolCon Fringe, affiliated to the annual BristolCon sci-fi and fantasy convention. Why not head down to the harbor to quaff a couple of real ales and hear some vivid imaginings of future and parallel universes? more

bristolcon.org

see Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory February sees the return of this brilliant theatre company, which each year stages a brace of plays – typically one or both from the Bard’s back catalogue – on the Tobacco Factory’s intimate stage Critics and audiences alike flock to south Bristol each year, drawn by SATTF’s beautiful, sensitive renderings of Shakespeare, Chekhov and others. This year the company revisits As You Like It (13 Feb-22 Mar & 22 Apr-2 May), Shakespeare’s pastoral comedy with which they scored an early hit back in 2003. The play follows its heroine Rosalind as she flees persecution in her uncle’s court, accompanied by her cousin Celia and Touchstone, the court jester, to find safety – and, eventually, love – in the Forest of Arden. SATTF is pairing it with Arcadia (27 Mar-19 Apr & 24 Apr-3 May), Tom Stoppard’s clever, mesmerising ‘comedy of ideas’ set at the same grand country house in two separate time periods. In 1809, Lady Croom detests the Romantic vision of her landscape gardener, while her daughter tussles with her tutor over the chaotic nature of reality and over the salacious goings-on in the gazebo. In the present day, meanwhile, a historian and a university don come to blows over the presence of Byron at Sidley, and over the identity of the estate’s mysterious hermit. Elsewhere, the son of the house is jarred by the possibility that the daughter of 1809 was a genius with ideas years ahead of her time.

“Arcadia is great theatre,” enthuses SATTF’s Artistic Director Andrew Hilton. “Yes, there are complex ideas about mathematics, determinism and chaos theory – as well as fizzing Stoppardian wit – but at its centre is human drama and the relationships between its protagonists, which bestride a great arch from the comic to the truly tragic. Then there is the great arch of time, from 1809 to now – the accidental nature of destiny, and the fallibility of history and record. It is a magnificent achievement.” more

www.sattf.org.uk

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listen Bristol International Jazz & Blues Festival After a hugely successful debut last spring, the Bristol International Jazz & Blues Festival returns from Friday 7-Sunday 9 March, with a packed programme taking over Colston Hall’s various spaces

Highlights include world-famous funksters Pee Wee Ellis and the Fred Wesley Funk All Stars, 1960s world-music ‘godfathers’ Osibisa, Bristol’s own jazz superstars Get the Blessing and Andy Sheppard, New Orleans musicians Lillian Boutté and Django à la Creole, and gypsy jazz guitarist Elliott Randall. Make time, too, for jazz-cum-rockabilly icon Imelda May (pictured) – and for Moscow Drug Club, who fuse 1930s Berlin cabaret, tango and gypsy music to captivating effect, mixing original material with tracks by Jacques Brel, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits

and Bertolt Brecht. Ellis and Wesley, both members of James Brown’s seminal JB’s, will play together on the same night – and they’ll be warmed up by Joseph ‘Zigaboo’ Modeliste, a founder member of The Meters, whose taut funk has been sampled by the likes of Run DMC, Public Enemy and the Beastie Boys. “Although they may seem to be completely separate genres today, there was a time when all jazz music was related to the blues,” explains the festival’s Artistic Director, guitarist Denny Ilett. “It was only later that a split occurred and they started to take different stylistic

paths. Part of my philosophy as artistic director is to try to make people realise that genre definitions are, frankly, silly. As Duke Ellington observed, ‘There are only two types of music: good and bad.’” Ilett and the team that put the festival together all live and work in Bristol. “There is such an exciting and rich jazz and blues scene here, it seemed logical to create an international stage to showcase it. That’s why there will always be a prominent contingent of Bristol musicians and bands playing the festival.” more bristoljazzandbluesfest.co.uk

Chinese new year Celebrate Chinese New Year at Bristol Museum and Art Gallery over the weekend of 1-2 February, with a programme of dance and music performances, plus martial arts and insights into Chinese culture. more bristol.gov.uk/page/leisure-and-culture/museum-events-and-exhibitions

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Wildlife Photographer of the Year The world-renowned Wildlife Photographer of the Year makes its annual visit to Bristol this winter. There are two significant changes for this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s show: previously housed at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, the exhibition moves to the top-floor gallery at M Shed. Secondly, the Bristol leg of the show will feature a special Bristol Wildlife display, celebrating our diverse ecosystem and encouraging visitors of all ages to explore nature on their doorstep. Away from these changes, the exhibition (30 Nov-23 Feb) promises to be as fascinating and beguiling as

ever, a global showcase of extraordinary images celebrating the drama, beauty and splendour of the natural world. Each year the competition, run jointly by the Natural History Museum and BBC Worldwide, receives tens of thousands of entries from professional and amateur snappers around the world. These are judged by an international jury of photography experts, and the winners, runners up and highly commended entries in each of the various categories will be on display at M Shed. more

mshed.org

The Water Bear by Paul Souders

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whiteladies ro

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

Explore Bristol Lido Restaurant, Spa & Pool, p43 •

Queens road

• RWA

clifton bs well ro ad o jac

• Rosemarino (p44)

clifton village

• St George’s Bristol, p8

r pa

• Clifton Suspension Bridge

City Museum •

• Cabot Tower

po )

y( wa rt

clifton wood hotwell

No.1 Harboursid

road

Bristo Cross Harbour Ferry •

hotwells

• Spiegeltent, p7

• Brunel’s ss Great Britain

Lockside, p43 •

Illustration: Dawn Cooper

ashton court park

• Nova Scotia

spike island • Spike Island, p8

• Create Centre & Bristol Record Office

200m

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400m

southville

• Tobacco Factory, p9, p45

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Ferries

xmas markets

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 the end of September and at weekends from October to December. They last 75 minutes, but you can hop on and off as you please. Harbourside stops include Broad Quay, Anchor Road, Hotwell Road, Cumberland Road, Brunel’s ss Great Britain and Prince Street. Book now for Twilight and Illumination Christmas tours. More: citysightseeingbristol.co.uk or turn to page 7.

Bristol Ferry Boats (bristolferry.com) and Number Seven Boat Trips (NSBT, numbersevenboattrips.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).

Forget the multinationals! Make shopping a more home-grown affair this Christmas and get your gifts from one of the city’s fabulous local markets. Turn to our feature on page 20 where we pick out the cream of this season’s Christmas gift fairs, all featuring the work of our most talented designer-makers.

m au

re et

Sightseeing

bristol shopping quarter

r pa st

Colston Hall p8 •

ple tem

No.1 Harbourside, p41 • • Tourist Infomation • Watershed, p9, p45

Bordeaux • Quay, p41

QUEEn SQUAre

redcliffe

• The Architecture Centre, p6

•

The Barley Mow, p40

• Bristol Old Vic

temple quay

• Shakespeare Tavern, p44 • Myristica, p44

•M ud Dock Café & Cycleworks, p43 • Arnolfini, p6, p40

redcl iffe w ay

• Bristol Temple Meads

clif

• Mud Dock Deli

fe h ill

• St Mary Redcliffe • M Shed

red

• eltent, p7

Bristol Aquarium • • At-Bristol, p6

av o

• Glassboat, p41

castle park way

• St George’s Bristol, p8

Trinity Centre p9

bath r

coronation road

oad

Key Ferry Boat stops

City Sightseeing pick up points

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g l a s s b o at Welsh Back Bristol BS1 4SB www. g l a s s b o at. c o . u k

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Q&A Rhiannon Jones Trinity’s programme manager talks to Shipshape about the redevelopment of this much-loved venue – and how the work will help put the centre back on the map

Hello Rhiannon. How are you?

Good. We’re in our busiest gig season and we’ve got our building works programme under way, so this is an exciting time for us here at Trinity. Can you tell me a little bit about Trinity’s relaunch.

The main changes are the renovations to our upstairs hall, creating a perfect space for dance, theatre, live music, and celebration events. We’re putting in a sprung wooden floor, underfloor heating, lighting and full length drapes – anyone who’s seen the space already will know how amazing it is and this will really help to realise its full potential. Improvements to downstairs include a new daytime access and reception area, improved external grounds and new pedestrian access gate. When is the work due to be finished and how much is the total budget?

Full project budget for this phase of works is £490,000 and we’ve already spent £310,000 on improvements including a lift, recording studio, upstairs facilities and a roof repair project. The works are due to be completed in early 2014 and we’re planning a big launch event for Saturday 8 February so people will get a chance to see the new space first-hand.

How will these changes will change people’s experience of the centre?

This work has been targeted at improving some of the problems people have fed back to us about the space. The centre overall will be more visible and welcoming for users. We want to create a better experience for people as soon as they arrive, making it easier to identify and navigate. The key change is bringing our beautiful upstairs hall into use, allowing people to use the space for classes, workshops and performances, as well as wedding celebrations. The works are coinciding with our involvement with the Creative Employment Programme, which will see 80 new paid internships for 18 to 24-year-olds created between September 2013 and March 2015 across a range of arts organisations – it’s a fantastic opportunity for young people in the city to get paid work experience within the arts. Is your arts programme changing?

We want to focus on building our programme offer, working alongside community groups and artists who

already use the spaces regularly for a range of rehearsals and performances. We’ll have more to offer in terms of available space and we are keen to work with existing and new partners to showcase the different cultures and diverse arts created by inner-city communities as well as bringing other artists into this area of Bristol. Trinity has a long and interesting history: does this inform your plans?

Definitely. We have run several projects that explore the history and heritage of Trinity. The centre has a vibrant history from those who remember it as a church, to those who came to punk and reggae gigs back in the early 80s. Trinity means something different to everyone, which is why it’s such a great historic and cultural landmark for the city. We’re just starting a new project called Vice & Virtue that explores the wider history of Old Market, so I’m sure we’ll uncover more interesting stories. Trinity’s Big Launch takes place on Saturday 8 February and will feature live performances from local artists. Turn to our feature on page 28 to read more about Old Market Quarter or visit 3ca.org.uk for more details

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neighbourhood watch: old market quarter

The 2011 Census

revealed that Barstaple Almshouses (now private flats) date from Victorian Bristol’s population had grown by 10%, increasing times but they’ve been here since the 1400s. The Gin Palace from 390,000 to 428,000. Between a baby boom and (or Palace Hotel) across the road is a real curiosity, built as a immigration, that was no great surprise. But there’s one hotel in the 19th century for a railway line that never arrived. part of town where the population actually trebled in the There’s the Methodist Central Hall (now flats too), the old same period. In 1991 around 2,000 people lived here. By Drill Hall (ditto), the Trinity Centre – a legendary live music 2011 it was 6,000 – and it’s probably even more than that venue back in the day, and now a live venue once more, and plenty else: over 60 listed buildings in fact. now. Step forward, Old Market Quarter. Old Market is a no-brainer as a place with a bright future. It’s right in the centre of the city, with Temple Meads station Destruction and decline on one side and Cabot Circus on the other. It’s close to the This was always a thriving part of the city, more or less at its vast new commercial developments of Temple Quarter and heart, and so it remained well into the 20th century. By then has similar or lower rates of crime and it was a predominantly working-class social problems to most parts of town. area, with a great deal of housing, shops It has bags of character, loads of and local industry as well as being horrible history interesting old buildings, shops, cafes the site of a major public transport The Lamb Inn in West Street and entertainment venues – and that interchange in the form of a tram was the location for one of priceless handle beloved of all lazy terminus. What did for Old Market was Britain’s most bizarre and journalists, “Bristol’s gay quarter”. a partnership (unintended, no doubt) of spooky poltergeist tales. In What’s not to love? Hitler and council officials. 1761 landlord Richard Giles’s Major German air raids on Bristol young daughters Molly and over the winter of 1940-41 caused History and heritage Dobby reported knocking damage, disruption and loss of life. For the purposes of this article we’re and scratching noises in They also brought about massive adopting the same borders as the their bedroom. Over the changes in the geography of Bristol. recently published Old Market Quarter next few weeks objects and Until 24 November 1941, a Neighbourhood Development Plan furniture were thrown all over continuous shopping street ran through (more below). Namely St Matthias, the place. The girls were Bristol like an artery. Starting on Broad Plain, Trinity, Waterloo, regularly thrown out of bed Blackboy Hill, it ran down Whiteladies Newtown, the Dings and St Jude’s. and mysteriously pinched, Road and Park Street to the Centre and Through the middle of it runs the A420 punched and cut. Many of then along Corn Street and High Street in the form of Old Market Street and these things happened in and into Castle Street. From Castle West Street out as far as the Lawrence front of several witnesses. At Street it went out through Old Market Hill roundabout. the time it was said that a rival and on to Kingswood. What gives Old Market character is of Giles’s had hired a witch The German bombs destroyed much history. That road running through the to do this, though the activity of Castle Street: pre-war Bristol’s social middle goes from Bristol to London, continued for months after and retail heart. The post-war planners, dating back to the times when it was a Giles’s sudden death. seeing a silver lining, replaced the street dirt track in summer and a quagmire in and the area around it with Castle Park winter. It got its name because back in the middle ages when it was just outside the walls of Bristol and created a modern new shopping centre at Broadmead. Obviously more people were going to be travelling Castle, and near to one of the main gates of the city walls (Lawford’s), there was a market here. It would have been an around in cars and so Bristol got a number of bigger, wider obvious place to sell the produce of nearby fields and gardens. roads too. And so a dual carriageway, a huge roundabout There were still hayricks here in the 1700s; householders and the Temple Way underpass cut Old Market off from were prosecuted for having them as they represented a fire the middle of town. In the other direction the Easton Way hazard to a growing cut it off from the eastern suburbs. By the 1980s this was an area in serious decline, city built of wood. There are still even though it had by then been declared a Conservation plenty of historically Area. The locals started to move out and the old industries important buildings began closing down. Bomb sites cleared in the 1940s to this day. The remained vacant. ➔ 28 shipshape

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BOLD market It has bags of character, active community associations and a radical development plan that could transform this thriving quarter. Small wonder people are moving there in their droves. Eugene Byrne tells us how Old Market Quarter became one of Bristolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most treasured spots

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Tickets: £3/£2concs. Children £2 under 5s free Family tickets £8 M Shed, Princes Wharf, Bristol BS8 4RN Tel: 0117 352 6600 Opening times: Tues–Fri 10am–5pm Weekends 10am–6pm Closed Mondays (except Bank Holidays) Closed Christmas Eve from 2pm Closed 25 & 26 December

30 Nov 2013– 23 Feb 2014

Wildlife Photographer of the Year is co-owned by the Natural History Museum and BBC Worldwide. Magazine Partner

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A remodelled Old Market Street, as envisaged by the Old Market Quarter Neighbourhood Development Plan. Previous page: Old Market circa 1908

neighbourhood watch: old market quarter

Rediscovery and renovation

But, as is usually the way with inner-city areas where property prices and rents have dropped, it got rediscovered. It may be that the first flowering of this took place in 1992 when HIV/AIDS charity the Aled Richards Trust (later part of the Terrence Higgins Trust) moved its HQ here in 1992. A gay sauna opened there a few years later, a gay café/bar and several gay clubs and LGBT-friendly pubs followed. Bristol architectural historian Andy Foyle says: “I know one person who insists the gay village was a behind-closed-doors council policy that even the planning department didn’t know about, but I don’t buy it.” While Old Market was becoming a “gay village” (with or without secret council encouragement) the Old Market Community Association (OMCA) was formed. Paul Bradburn, local resident and furniture maker and OMCA’s chair, says: “We had lots of meetings with traders and residents, heard lots of moaning about dog poo, litter and the usual stuff. But what always eventually boiled up to the top of the pot was the road system.” The autumn of 2013 saw the publication of the Old Market Quarter Neighbourhood Development Plan. This was the first in a number of similar plans being drawn up for a number of other places around Bristol, aiming to give communities some say over their development. The plan lays out priorities for the area’s future. Big bullet-points in the plan include a change to the layout of Old Market Street allowing for a wider pedestrian area – this might happen soon if the funding doesn’t disappear. The plan also envisages new health and community centres, a supermarket, a football pitch and the development of empty areas, including the Gardiner Haskins car park. Its final aim is to get rid of the Old Market roundabout and the Temple Way underpass and rework the junction to reconnect Old Market with the city centre. It would also like to see an end to the Lawrence Hill roundabout too. But there might be a bit of a wait.

Magic numbers Old Market Quarter is the fastest growing residential area of the city and is undergoing rapid growth

6,000

people call Old Market Quarter home

2 new

businesses open each week

1 new theatre

opened in August 2013 – the Empire Theatre is a pop-up arts space located in a former bank on West Street

30 arts studios call the quarter home

19 entertainment venues can be found throughout the area

4 gyms

keep residents fit and healthy

60 listed

buildings are located in the area

£490k

is being spent to refurbish Trinity, Old Market’s music, arts and community centre (turn to page 27 for our interview with the centre’s Rhiannon Jones)

New enterprise

There are still plenty of bits that look shabby, but despite the economic climate, the area is improving. Not least because there are going to be loads of businesses located around Temple Meads before too long, thanks to the Bristol Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone – one of the UK’s largest urban regeneration projects that aims to create 17,000 jobs. “Old Market Quarter has an incredible heritage, which we hope to maximise upon to feed the regeneration of the area,” says Leighton Deburca, placemaker and passionate advocate for Old Market Quarter. “The whole area is going through a cultural rebirth and is starting to become a goto destination again thanks to the recent opening of a shopping arcade brimming with local retailers, as well as the opening of the vintage pop-up venue, Empire Theatre. “The regeneration is being noticed,” he continues. “Old Market Quarter has been nominated for the Purple Flag Award, which recognises that the area is managing its night-time experience and helping to overcome any negative perceptions, as well as a Placemaking Award, which recognises the projects, plans and people that are helping to regenerate the area. “My mission is to put the high street back at the centre of trade and industry with a 21st-century twist.” More oldmarketquarter.co.uk, oldmarket.org.uk, oldmarketquarter.co.uk/ heritage-trail facebook.com/oldmarketbristol, facebook.com/empire.bristol

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28/11/2013 18:59

will Gregory

Gregory’s girl Musician and composer Will Gregory talks to Mark Sayers about his recent project for Bath Film Festival, where he composed and performed a soundtrack for film The Passion of Joan of Arc “When we saw the film we were both totally bowled over. It’s a very powerful work – the script comes from the actual transcript of Joan of Arc’s trial. Even more importantly, the pace of the film is very sympathetic to music. There’s lots of space for the music to come in.” The speaker is musician Will Gregory, best known for his role as one half of the endlessly inventive electropop duo Goldfrapp. What he’s currently enthusing about, though, is a very different project. Will and Portishead’s Adrian Utley – long-time musical collaborators, it turns out – have composed and performed a powerful orchestral soundtrack to one of the landmark films of the 20th century, a stirring silent tale of passion, power and defiance. The film in question is The Passion of Joan of Arc, Carl Theodor Dreyer’s 1928 masterpiece that follows the interrogation, torture and martyrdom of the French folk heroine. As a teenager, Joan led the French army to victories against England in the Hundred Years War: Dreyer’s film, however, centres on the end of her life as she is tried for heresy after being captured. Famously, the film draws on the actual transcripts of Joan’s trial. Will and Adrian have performed their live score twice now, at Bristol’s Colston Hall and, most recently, under the splendid Gothic vaults of Bath Abbey – with an orchestra of 23 musicians under the direction of the celebrated, Somerset-based conductor Charles Hazlewood, as part of this autumn’s Bath Film Festival. “The opening scene is 17 minutes long,” Gregory, a prolific composer and multi-instrumentalist, enthuses. “That kind of space and time is a gift to a film score composer. But it’s also such a powerful piece of work. The fact that the script is taken directly from Joan’s actual trial… it’s almost like a docu-drama. Very harrowing. Almost 90 years on, the film still has so much power.” Sound of silents

Gregory has been accompanying silent films for a few years, as part of a duo called The Gas Giants, working at Watershed and also for Bath Film Festival during the 1990s. “I’d started to dream about doing something bigger,” says Gregory, “which was when Charles asked me about working with a

full orchestra. We accompanied one silent film together, with Adrian on guitar, and the two of us decided we wanted to soundtrack something together. We thought ‘let’s find a great silent film’ – an obvious choice, as you have so much scope and space to invent.” Gregory cites composers like John Barry (Midnight Cowboy, Dances With Wolves), Bernard Hermann (Psycho, Taxi Driver), Lalo Schifrin (the Dirty Harry films), Nino Rota (The Godfather, The Godfather: Part II) and, in particular, Ennio Morricone (A Fistful of Dollars and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly), as major influences on his work. “There’s plenty of silence in [Morricone’s] movies,” Gregory says, “which is a gift for the composer – because you’re not competing with dialogue or sound effects, you become the whole sonic world of the film. Now, how you approach that is completely open. The way sounds and vision work together, if you watch a silent film and hear a certain sound, you will automatically make a connection between the action and that sound. So in that sense there are no rules – and that’s liberating. Nothing is the ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ sound. But obviously, you don’t want to feel that the music is going in an opposite direction to the film itself – you’re basically there to support the actors in the film, to make them appear as convincing as you can.” Magical musical tour

The trial of Joan of Arc is just the latest stop on an eclectic musical journey for Gregory. Born in Bristol, the son of poet and painter Margaret Gregory – for years a regular exhibitor at the Royal West of England Academy – he studied orchestral and chamber music at York before returning to Bristol in the 1980s. It was here that his musical career began to take off, initially as a session saxophonist with Bath-based pop duo Tears for Fears. This period also saw the beginning of a fruitful friendship with Adrian Utley. “I lived in Clifton and Redland for most of the 1980s, and I was part of a broad music scene. I joined a band called Loggerheads, which featured Adrian on guitar. He and I have done things together ever since – I think we feel that we speak each other’s language.” ➔

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“Bristol’s also always been a very social city, easy to get around – and there also seem to be a lot of clever people here, people with a singular vision about how things should be done, whether that’s in art, music or whatever” 33 shipshape

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28/11/2013 19:18

The RummeR hoTel

The Rummer Hotel won Best Spirits Pub at the Great British Pub Awards 2013. 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. All SAinTS lAne, BRiSTOl, BS1 1JH Tel : 0117 9290111 www.THeRummeR.neT

WiNter suNsHiNe! January all Month Long

Sunshine Music to lift Winter Spirits

January

Best independent retailer & cafe in the south west (Observer Food Monthly) • Delicatessen • Takeaway meals • Cafe • Cookery school

& catering

0117 973 6569

www.papadeli.co.uk

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Fri 10 Sat 11 Fri 17 Sat 18 Fri 24 Sat 25 Fri 31

roots Prescription James Morton - Sunshine Ilu Axe Talisman Fofoulah John Langan Band Baila La Cumbia

February

Sat 1

Ziriguidum

No.1 Harbourside www.no1harbourside.co.uk

28/11/2013 18:39

will Gregory

Later, in the 1990s, Will performed with the likes of Peter Gabriel, The Cure, Portishead and Tori Amos before, in 1999, meeting singer Alison Goldfrapp and embarking on his most successful chapter. Goldfrapp’s sonically adventurous music – ranging from dreamy, widescreen trip-hop through brash glam rock and sensuous synthpop and on to soft, whimsical acoustic ballads to nature and Paganism – has won them a devoted following, not to mention two Grammy Award nominations. Creative culture

Bristol is renowned for its rich musical heritage – from The Pop Group to Massive Attack, dubstep hero Pinch and Gravenhurst – and Gregory is well aware of the cultural synergy that seems to pervade the city. “This has probably changed, but in the 80s you could live in Bristol for very little money as most parts of town hadn’t come up in the world. I was on the Enterprise Allowance Scheme

[an income of £40 per week to unemployed people who set up their own business] and was able to spend my days in the rehearsal room with lots of lovely, inspiring folk. Having that sort of time, and not worrying about paying the bills, obviously fosters creativity. Bristol’s also always been a very social city, easy to get around – and there also seem to be a lot of clever people here, people with a singular vision about how things should be done, whether that’s in art, music or whatever.” For now, Gregory is basking in the success of Goldfrapp’s sixth album Tales of Us (which reached number 4 in the UK charts on its release back in the autumn) and currently finds himself composing a soundtrack for a television film about dolphins, no less. He’s also been busy with his Moog Ensemble (named after the iconic early analogue synthesisers), a ninepiece synth orchestra who interpret a mix of Gregory’s own compositions and classical works, including Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos. “It’s a very fertile area for me, and one that I want to pursue more in the coming year,” he reveals. “Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos sound pretty good on nine synthesisers…” more bathfilmfestival.org.uk/event/joan-of-arc, goldfrapp.co.uk

This pic: Gregory with Alison Goldfrapp. Main image, from left: a blurred Jim Barr, Stig Manley (guitar), Joby Burgess (percussion), Alex Lee (guitar) and Will Gregory.

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28/11/2013 19:00

HMT ROYAL EDWARD

“The ship went down in five minutes. I had just time to go into a cabin and get a lifebelt and jump overboard. When she went down, the suction of the ship drew me towards her, but the explosion of the boilers blew us clean out of the water … I was among hundreds of soldiers struggling for dear life. I swam about and floated until I came across a kind of milk-can, which I clung to for about an hour, treading the water until it began to fill, so I had to abandon it. “I swam about until I came across some wreckage. I managed to get hold of three planks, deck planks, and clung to these until picked up by the lifeboat of a hospital ship that came to our rescue after being about five hours in the water. “You talk about war, Jack. It was not in it. It was the biggest experience of my life, those five hours.” Private R Burton of the 1st Lancashire Fusiliers, writing to a friend from the safety of a rest camp, was one of the lucky ones. A survivor of one of the greatest British maritime disasters of the First World War – the sinking of HMT Royal Edward. Royal Edward was built at Govan in Scotland and was launched in 1907 as the Cairo. With her sister ship Helipolis, she ran between Marseilles and Alexandria for

the British-owned Egyptian Mail Steamship Company. This was not a commercial success and by 1910 both ships had been sold to the Canadian Northern Steamship Company and renamed Royal Edward and Royal George. Following a refit, they ran a service from Avonmouth to Montreal in the summer, but only going as far as Halifax, Nova Scotia in the winter because the St Lawrence River would be iced up. Both were modern, fast liners. Royal Edward could carry over 1,100 passengers, and even her third-class accommodation was reckoned very comfortable by the standards of the time. She had seven decks, a café, a library and a smoking room. The first-class dining room could accommodate 256 people. It was, all agreed, a magnificent ship. This was a boom time for the port of Bristol, both Avonmouth and the City Docks. The new modern Royal Edward Dock had opened in 1908, Elders & Fyffes were bringing in bananas from the Caribbean, grain came into the city docks, mostly from north America, in huge quantities. The thing every Bristolian knew about Avonmouth in the years before the First World War, was that from here you could get quickly, and quite cheaply, to Canada. ➔

-In the first in our series of features marking the centenary of World War One, Eugene Byrne shares the story of the sinking of HMT Royal Edward, one of the greatest British maritime disasters of the Great War

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“ we

“The ship went down in five minutes”

HMT ROYAL EDWARD

The Royal Edward (with the Royal George in the background) at Avonmouth Docks

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September Tuesday 10 September

The Magic Numbers

Friday 20 September

Saturday 28 September

Sunday 22 September

Monday 30 September

Justin Currie

(SOLD OUT)

Saturday 14 September

Krystle Warren & Gwyneth Herbert

Baka Beyond

Bella Hardy

Sam Gray

saturday 22 February January October Keith tippett oCtet

Tuesday 1 October

Wednesday 9 October

Tuesday 1 October

Friday 11 October

Tuesday 22 October

Roller Trio and Lunchtime Concert: GoGo Penguin Maciej Burdzy, Emil Duncumbanuary ednesday

W 8J Cass MCCoMbs Stephen Johnson and English Piano Trio: Tchaikovsky

Tunng

Agnes Obel

tuesday 25Tamikrest February MiChael Foyle Wednesday 23 October Friday 25 October

A Touch of Acoustic Lunchtime Concert: saturday 11 January tuesday 25 February Michael Butten The Full English with Seth DisCovering MusiC: stephen Johnson anD Lakeman, Martin Simpson The Carrivick Sisters and Fay Hield russian Masters Paul Foot english piano trio: b eethovenLunchtime Concert: The Best in UK Standup Discovering Music: saturday 18 January Wagner Gala Florian Mitrea and Alexandra Vaduva best in uK stanD-uAlexei p Sayle Wednesday 26 Sam Carter Trio Peacock and Gamble Smoke FairiesFebruary Wednesday Adriano Adewale and 22 January J onny anD Lunchtime the bConcert: aptists Benjamin Taubkin Chris raMsey Lunchtime Concert: Anna Huntley and Carys Evans and Suling King James Baillieu solD Concert: out Lunchtime Friday 28 February Anna Dmytrenko & Ed Ballard trio isiMsizSeann Walsh thursday 23 – saturday 25 January the russian Winter March box0844ofﬁce 887 1500 thursday 30 January saturday 1www.colstonhall.org – riCharD uttley sunday 2 March riCharD herring thursday 30 January siMon evans tuesday 4 March Jorgensen piano trio Wednesday 2 October

Tuesday 15 October

Robin Ince

Sunday 27 October

Friday 4 October

Friday 18 October

Saturday 5 October

Saturday 19 October

Tuesday 29 October

Sunday 20 October

Saturday 5 October

(over 14s)

Tuesday 29 October

Monday 21 October

Sunday 6 October

Thursday 31 October

Tuesday 22 October

Tuesday 8 October

Thursday 31 October

follow us to receive updates about new shows, special offers and ticket giveaways www.facebook.com/colstonhall @colston_hall

Instagram.com/colstonhall

February

Friday 7 sunday 9 March bristol international Jazz & blues Festival

saturday 1 February DisCovering MusiC: hough plays liszt

tuesday 11 March KustenDyKe Quartet

tuesday 4 February shaKespeare songs Wednesday 5 February alex horne saturday 8 February zara MCFarlane tuesday 11 February iMogen hanCoCK & Máire Carroll saturday 15 February best in uK stanD-up sunday 16 February Festival oF the spoKen nerD

Wednesday 12 March Faustus Friday 14 March rob beCKett saturday 15 March WittanK tuesday 18 March the DeCo enseMble Wednesday 19 March Joel DoMMett Friday 21 March Kathryn WilliaMs

tuesday 18 February aCaDeMy song CyCle

saturday 22 March best in uK stanD-up

Wednesday 19 February Cate le bon

Monday 24 March lloyD Cole

thursday 20 February FurroW ColleCtive

tuesday 25 March viviana lasaraCina

Friday 28 March Friday 21 February bartosz WoroCh leon MitChener & robert thoMpson (KlaviKon), rolySeptember porter & aDDison groove Friday 28 March Justin Currie The Magic Numbers Colin houltBaka : Beyond CharaCthorse Bella Hardy Krystle Warren & Gwyneth Herbert Sam Gray Tuesday 10 September

Friday 20 September

Saturday 28 September

Sunday 22 September

Monday 30 September

(SOLD OUT)

Saturday 14 September

October

www.facebook.com/ colstonhall Tuesday 1 October

@colston_hall

Lunchtime Concert: Maciej Burdzy, Emil Duncumb

Instagram.com/ Stephen Johnson and English colstonhall Piano Trio: Tchaikovsky Tuesday 1 October

Friday 11 October

Tunng

box office Tuesday 22 October

Agnes Obel

Wednesday 23 October 0844 Tamikrest887 1500 www.colstonhall.org Friday 25 October

Tuesday 15 October

A Touch of Acoustic

Robin Ince

Lunchtime Concert: Michael Butten

Friday 4 October

Friday 18 October

Paul Foot

The Full English with Seth Lakeman, Martin Simpson and Fay Hield

Saturday 5 October

Saturday 19 October

Tuesday 29 October

Wednesday 2 October

The Carrivick Sisters Discovering Music: Wagner Gala Saturday 5 October

Sam Carter Trio

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Wednesday 9 October

Roller Trio and GoGo Penguin

Sunday 6 October

Adriano Adewale and Benjamin Taubkin Tuesday 8 October

Lunchtime Concert: Anna Dmytrenko & Ed Ballard

The Best in UK Standup Sunday 20 October

Alexei Sayle

(over 14s)

Monday 21 October

Smoke Fairies

Tuesday 22 October

Lunchtime Concert: Carys Evans and Suling King

Sunday 27 October

Lunchtime Concert: Florian Mitrea and Alexandra Vaduva Tuesday 29 October

Peacock and Gamble Thursday 31 October

Lunchtime Concert: Anna Huntley and James Baillieu Thursday 31 October

28/11/2013 14:46

HMT ROYAL EDWARD

The cafe-lounge aboard the Royal Edward during her time as a liner. Inset: Farewell ‘Royal Edward’ poem

Canada was the new land of opportunity. Young ambitious men of all classes were leaving Bristol to go there in large numbers to seek their fortunes. They sailed on ships run by the Canadian Pacific Steamship Line, the Dominion Line and now Canadian Northern as well. The British government effectively subsidised many of these shipping lines by giving them contracts to carry the mail, hence the designation ‘RMS’ – Royal Mail Ship – before their names. Crossing the north Atlantic, especially in winter, was a hazardous business. Most of the ships’ crews signed on in Bristol and many homes, particularly in areas like Shirehampton and Avonmouth, worried about their menfolk. Aside from gales and storms, the big hazard was ice. In April 1912 Royal Edward had crossed an ice field and radioed a report of it, but this did not stop the Titanic being sunk by one of the same icebergs four days later. A lot of those Canadian emigrants returned when war broke out in 1914. Many of them came back to the city they had left on Royal Edward or Royal George. Both ships had been requisitioned by the government as troopships. They were no longer Royal Mail Ships, but Hired Military Transports. Most Canadian returnees came to serve in the British army, but some arrived as soldiers in the Canadian army. These men were lionised by the locals when they arrived at Avonmouth early in the war. In late July 1915 HMT Royal Edward embarked 1,367 soldiers at Avonmouth: infantrymen, officers and members of the Royal Army Medical Corps bound for Gallipoli. She arrived at Alexandria on 10 August and sailed for the island of Lemnos. On the morning of Friday August 13 1915, the German submarine UB-14 spotted her. Oberleutnant zur See Heino von Heimburg, seeing that she was not escorted by any warships, launched one of his U-boat’s two torpedoes. Harry Ross, one of the ship’s engineering officers, remembered later: “I was off duty and was below in my room when I observed through the porthole the wake of a torpedo, about 70 or 80 yards away. “In less than a minute it had struck the vessel on the port side, aft the engine room. The noise of the explosion was terrible, while the rushing in of the water was overwhelming. There was soon a list to starboard, and all

the lights under the deck were out.” Royal Edward’s stern was quickly under water. She sank, bow up, almost perpendicular, in five or six minutes, leaving the sea strewn with wreckage and men. Just before the attack, the soldiers had finished carrying out a lifeboat drill. Many of them were below, stowing their kit, and never had the chance to get back up on deck. The Radio Officer managed to get off an SOS message before losing power. Nonetheless, survivors spent several hours in the sea, some with lifebelts, others clinging to pieces of wreckage or upturned lifeboats. Luckily this was warm water, not the freezing Atlantic. Men sang ‘It’s a Long Way to Tipperary’ and other songs. In between, someone would yell: “Are we downhearted?” to be met with a resounding “No!” Two French warships, a number of fishing boats and the British hospital ship Soudan eventually reached the scene and picked up several hundred exhausted men. Oberleutnant von Heimburg observed, but did not attack the rescuers. UB-14 quietly slipped away. The exact number of men lost on Royal Edward is uncertain, though it certainly ran to at least 900, and may have been over 1,000. In terms of numbers it was one of the greatest maritime disasters to affect Bristol, because most of Royal Edward’s 220 officers and crew had Bristol addresses. In the confusion and official secrecy of the war – in official statements the government deliberately underestimated the number of dead – we don’t know exactly how many Bristolians died on Royal Edward. After the war, a memorial plaque was put up in Avonmouth to the ship’s catering staff – that alone came to 35 names. Every one of the losses was its own private tragedy, affecting the families of the soldiers lost as well as crew. The dead came from all over the country. And with horrible irony, the losses were felt in Canada too. To take just one example, Lieutenant Edward Thompson had emigrated to Canada and returned again in 1914 to join the army – perhaps one or both of those journeys were taken on Royal Edward. He certainly died on Royal Edward at the age of 35, leaving a wife and three children back on the ranch in Alberta where he had once planned on making a new life.

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

arnolfini

Bright, buzzing café-bar

The barley mow

Bristol Beer Factory’s flagship pub

bell’s diner and bar rooms

Modern British neighbourhood bistro

This stylish, buzzing eatery serves up a Mediterranean-inspired menu using locally sourced ingredients: find slates of antipasti, pizzas, tapas and a Christmas menu, as well as delicious home-made cakes and pastries – available to eat in or take home. To drink, luxury hot chocolate with marshmallows, or choose from a small but perfectly balanced wine list from across Europe, made by small, independent producers. Beers and ciders come from Somerset and beyond, and expertly made coffee from Extract Coffee Roasters. Dishes: Slow-cooked beef short rib, celeriac purée, kale & roast portobello mushroom (£5/£10.50); wild hare carpaccio, mozzarella & hazelnuts(£4.50); home-made lemon & parsley gnocchi, cavolo nero & pecorino (£4.25/£8); brunch served every day 10am ‘til 4pm Times: from 10am daily Book: cafebar@arnolfini.org.uk 0117 917 2305

The Barley Mow offers the most carefully selected range of craft beers in Bristol. Blending traditional with modern, the cosy interior with open fire makes for a comfortable and welcoming pub. Only five minutes’ walk from Temple Meads and Old Market, the Barley Mow’s location away from the hubbub of the centre makes it a pub that’s worth seeking out. The menu is designed to complement the beers and uses fresh, seasonal produce. Regular events on the second Wednesday of the month, with Tap Takeovers and the Beer Essentials, plus a popular Monday night quiz. Dishes: Scotch egg and piccalilli (£3), Black Pudding Sausage Roll (£3), pickled cockles (£3.50), Rib Eye Steak with Pink Peppercorn Butter and Fries (£9.50), Traditional Sunday Roasts (£9) Times: Mon-Thu 12-11pm, Fri-Sat 1211.30pm, Sun 12-10pm; food served: Mon-Sat 12-3pm and 5-9pm, Sun roasts from 12pm Book: hello@barleymowbristol.com

The Guardian was a huge fan of this bone fide Bristol institution when it visited last summer, praising its “whip smart menu” of “bloody good” food. The Financial Times, meanwhile, called it “the kind of restaurant you instinctively want in your neighbourhood: small, honest and enduringly bonkers”. Find tapas-style dishes served in lovely, laid-back surroundings. Dishes: Salt cod fritters and aioli (£4.50); courgette and feta fritters with sweet tomato sauce (£5.50); charcoal grilled salt and pepper prawns (£7.50/£15); charcoal grilled quail with grapes and cobnuts (£9); lemon meringue tart (£5.50) Times: tea, coffee, toast: Tue-Sat 10am-12pm, Sun 10am-4pm; brunch: Sun 11am-3pm; lunch: Tue-Sat 123pm; dinner: Tue-Sat 6-10pm Book: questions@bellsdiner.com

16 Narrow Quay, BS1 4QA 0117 917 2305

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

@ArnolfiniCafe

barleymowbristol.com

1-3 York Road, BS6 5QB 0117 924 0357 @BellsDiner

arnolfini.org.uk

facebook.com/ barleymowbristol

bellsdiner.com

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e at i n g & d r i n k i n g

bordeaux Quay

glassboat

No.1 Harbourside

Sophisticated bistro classics

Colourful and friendly dockside venue

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.

Located on the floating harbour in 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 of Bristolians. Glassboat chef Charlie Hurrell, uses only the best local suppliers and cooks classic dishes simply. Groups of up to 40 can be accommodated on the lower deck. The ideal private space for your event.

Dishes: Moules marinieres (£6.50); confit duck salad with muscat grapes, walnuts, celery and raspberry vinegar (£7); BQ cheeseboard (£7.50) 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

Dishes: Devilled veal kidneys on toast (£7); roast turbot, cauliflower, caper and almond brown butter (£21.50); fig tarte fine, vanilla ice cream (6.50); Sunday roast £21 for three courses. 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

Rather wonderful restaurant, bar, music venue, cake shop and home to the brilliant Harbourside market. The restaurant produces a short, weekly changing menu that showcases the best in regional produce, including delicious vegetarian dishes. The bar serves a wide range of brewed-inBristol craft beers, Somerset ciders, specialist spirits and a European wine list featuring some great English whites from just down the road. If live music is your thing, catch the best of Bristol’s musical talent on the little stage on Wednesday to Saturday nights – visit no1harbourside.co.uk/ music/ for listings.

V Shed, Canons Way, BS1 5UH 0117 943 1200

Welsh Back, BS1 4SB 0117 929 0704

1 Canons Road, BS1 5UH 0117 929 1100

bordeaux-quay.co.uk

glassboat.co.uk

no1harbourside.co.uk

Ethical restaurant, brasserie and deli

Dishes: Chef’s winter salad (£6.50); Cornish mussels served with black pepper fries (£6); silverside of Herefordshire beef with horseradish cream (£11) Times: Mon-Thu 10am-12am, FriSat 10am-1am, Sun 10am-11.30pm; lunch: 12-3pm, dinner: 5-9pm (weekends: food served all day). Book: ahoy@no1harbourside.co.uk

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e at i n g & d r i n k i n g

lido restaurant, spa & pool

lockside

The Lido is an oasis of calm in the heart of Bristol, where chef Freddy Bird presides over two floors of poolside dining. It’s the only choice for great food and relaxation. As well as lunch and dinner the poolside bar serves breakfast from 8am-11.30am, tapas from noon until 10pm and afternoon tea from 2.30pm-5.30pm.

Lovely, laid-back café on the edge of Cumberland Basin offering a range of tasty breakfasts (served all day), brunch and lunchtime treats. Formerly known as the Venturers’ Rest and Popeye’s Diner (not to mention acting as the location for Sid’s Café in Only Fools and Horses), Lockside is bright and airy, boasting fantastic views of the surrounding docks. In the warmer months customers can make the most of the alfresco seating. Lockside is also available for private hire and can cater for up to 75 people. Celebrations can be tailored to meet your requirements.

Laid-back waterside café

European-inspired dishes

Dishes: Crab, apple, tarragon & paprika on toast (£8); Iberico pig’s cheeks, cooked in Asturian cider, parsnip and vanilla purée, watercress, apple (£17.50); Amaretto cherry and pistachio tart, or freshly churned Lido ice cream 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

Mud dock Café & cycleworks Mediterranean menu

Dishes: Early bird breakfast with tea and toast (£5.95); poached egg with bubble and squeak and crispy pancetta (£8.95); warm salad of pan-fried calamari and chorizo and sweet chilli sauce (£9.50); blueberry cheesecake (£3.75) Times: Mon-Fri 7am-4pm, Sat 8am4pm, Sun 9am-4pm Book: 0117 925 5800

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 sun-up 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 locallysourced beef) for dinner. Head downstairs to the Cycleworks to find a range of bikes, secure bike shed, servicing and repairs, workshops, apparel and more. Dishes: Green shell mussels in a coconut chilli and fennel sauce (£5.95); barley risotto, roasted squash, sage and almond (£12.95); zesty orange bread and butter pudding (£4.65) 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

Oakfield Place, BS8 2BJ 0117 933 9530

No 1 Brunel Lock Road, BS1 6XS 0117 925 5800

40 The Grove, BS1 4RB 0117 934 9734

lidobristol.com

lockside.net

mud-dock.co.uk

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e at i n g & d r i n k i n g

myristica

Fine Indian dining

ROSEMARINO

Award-winning Italian

shakespeare tavern

Traditional Harbourside pub

Winner of the Best Restaurant award at the inaugural Asian Food Awards 2013 (see page 23 for more), 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.

Located on a wonderfully sunny corner just outside Clifton village, Rosemarino are the winners of ‘Best Breakfast’ & ‘Best Italian’ at the Bristol Good Food Awards 2012 & 2013. Their emphasis is on freshly prepared Italian-inspired food created using a combination of ingredients from locally based suppliers and exclusively imported Italian produce. Rosemarino really is a little gem to enjoy any time of the day, whether you visit for a full Italian feast, the legendary breakfasts or simply a coffee over the papers.

Dishes: Rabbit varuval (£6.95); achari venison (£12.95); okra stir fry (£4.95); chocolate samosas (£3.45) 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

Dishes: Duck and lemon thyme meatballs with porcini pappardelle (£7.25); Pan-fried cod fillet wrapped in lardo with squid ink vermicelli (£14.75); White peach compote, zabaglione, poppyseed tuille (£5.75) Times: Breakfast and brunch: MonSun 9-3pm; lunch Mon-Sun 12-3pm; dinner Tues-Sat 6-10pm; Sunday lunch: 12-3pm. Book: info@rosemarino.co.uk

51 Welsh Back, BS1 4AN 0117 927 2277

1 York Place, Clifton, BS8 1AH 0117 9736677

myristica.co.uk

rosemarino.co.uk twitter: @rosemarino1

This beloved old harbour boozer (and longest-serving ale house in Bristol) serves up an appetising mix of traditional dishes and sharing platters. Great deals include a sandwich, side and drink for £5.99, burger and drink for £7.49 and ‘share the love’ – a sharing platter plus a bottle of wine for £11.99. Behind the bar, choose from seven cask ales (including Golden Hen and Shakespeare), draught cider and lager and more than 15 types of wine. Winter warmers are now being served, including hot mulled wine, mulled cider (both £2.95) and stoups – not a typo but a cross between a soup and a stew, served with flatbrad. Dishes: Cheesy garlic ciabatta (£2.99); hunter’s chicken (£5.99); butternut squash and sage cannelloni (£5.49); Sunday roast (£8.49); jam roly poly (£3.79) Times: Mon-Thu 11am-11pm, Fri-Sat 11am-12am, Sun 11am-11pm Book: @shakespearestav, facebook.com/theshakespearetavern 68 Prince Street, BS1 4QD 0117 929 7695

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e at i n g & d r i n k i n g

the stable

Pizzas, pies and cider

tobacco factory

Watershed CAFé/bar

A popular social hub in the heart of Southville. The industrial feel of the large café bar reflects the building’s history. With the music, lighting, art exhibitions and young, friendly staff, it has a great, welcoming atmosphere. The kitchen serves a healthy British/ Mediterranean inspired menu with evening and weekend specials updated to reflect the seasons, including a great Christmas menu. There’s a covered terrace, open-air Yard, and numerous events throughout the year. The weekly Sunday market has up to 40 stalls offering locally produced food and crafts, with special markets throughout the year including Christmas markets on 8th, 15th & 22nd December.

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 ‘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: Thai fish salad with chilli, coriander & lime dressing (£6.80); Corn fed chicken with martini sauce, roasted butternut squash, potatoes and green beans (£10.50). Times: Mon-Thu 12-11pm, Fri-Sat 12pm-12am, Sun 10am-11pm Book: 0117 902 0060 cafebar@tobaccofactory.com

Menu highlights: Battered whitebait (£5); African beef ribs (£5.50); Moroccan spiced lamb burger (£10.95); Watershed fish and chips (£10.95); homemade sorbet £3.50). Times: Mon 10am-11pm, Tue-Fri 9.30am-11pm, Sat 10am-11pm, Sun 10am-10.30pm Book: cafebar@watershed.co.uk

Raleigh Road, BS3 1TF 0117 902 0060

1 Canons Road, BS1 5TX 0117 927 5101

tobaccofactory.com

watershed.co.uk

Contemporary café-bar

Opening last summer, The Stable Bristol is the largest operation in this five-strong chain (other locations include Bath, Bridport, Weymouth and Poole). Find handmade pizzas and pies featuring fresh, organic (where possible) and locally-sourced ingredients alongside a range of salads for the carb-shy. The cider list is as exhaustive as it is refreshing (Copper Press, Bridgefarm and Orchard Pig, to name a few) and a specially created kids’ menu will keep the nippers happy. Dishes: The Clifton Suspender Herbivore (pizza topped with freerange chicken, roasted red pepper, local field mushrooms, tomato and mozzarella, £10.50); beef, stout and horseradish pie (£9); Jackson’s smoked mackerel and smoked salmon salad (£9.50); crumble (£5) Times: Food: 11am-9.30pm; Cider: 11am-11.30pm Book: bristol@stablepizza.com

Canon’s Road BS1 5UH 0117 927 9999

stablepizza.com

Social space serving seasonal food

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m y fav o u r i t e t h i n g s

Self-help books Darren Tanner, Manager of the fantastic Foyles bookshop in Bristol, picks his five favourite self-help books 1 Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm by Thich Nhat Hanh

The author, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, draws upon the Buddhist tradition of mindfulness to help the reader to face and overcome the roots of fear, which often, in an unconscious way, determine the form of many people’s lives. 2 Tai Chi: The Perfect Exercise by Arthur Rosenfeld A perfect introduction

for anyone looking to take up the discipline of Tai Chi. Rosenfeld explores the philosophy of this ancient martial art, which has the possibility to influence all aspects of a practitioner’s life.

3 Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation for Everyday Life by Jon Kabat-Zinn A classic

introduction to mindfulness practice, this work will help anyone who is looking to find calm in their lives and to live more fully in every moment. 4 The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories by Leo Tolstoy

The Death of Ivan Ilyich is an achingly deep short story; within its pared-down narrative, Tolstoy manages to take the reader into the depths of humankind’s search for meaning. An amazing, lifechanging work of fiction. 5 Into the Silent Land by Martin Laird

This profound book takes the reader deep into the art of silent contemplation, drawing heavily on texts on contemplation from early Eastern and Western Christian traditions for inspiration. more

foyles.co.uk

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wapping wharf

car park Cheap City Parking Next to M Shed Monday to Friday Up to 1 hour

Saturday £1

1-2 hours

£1.80

2-4 hours

£4

Over 4 hours

£7.50

Week

£30

Month

£90

Any period

£3.50

Sunday & Bank Holidays Any period

£3.50

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 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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