Trym Tales

Fruit Trees for Sale

2012-01-18T22:57:00.000Z

I saw this ad today and thought I would re-post it.

Eastside Roots Community Garden
Stapleton Rd Station
Easton

Fruit trees and bushes for sale
Competitive prices and locally sourced
Apples, pears, plums, hazel nut, gooseberry, raspberry, goji berry, grape and lots more

Open 11am to 4.30pm Fridays
and 12 to 4pm Saturdays

There are quite a few fruit trees already in my part of Westbury, but imagine if every home owner in the city had a least one fruit-producing tree or bush on their property. I don't mean just a decorative one. I mean a tangible source of the household's food supply.

Maybe we would start to look like a more cloudy and drizzly version of Seville - whose streets are full of orange trees. Maybe.

Cities with multiple trees are also healthier - the trees absorb CO2 and release Oxygen, keeping the air fresh. Their leaves also capture and remove polluting gases, and when they fall, these leaves help to fertilise the soil. The root system of trees also helps the soil to absorb rain water more effectively - thus reducing the risk of flooding caused by an overly-tarmacked and paved urban environment. Trees also reduce noise pollution, encourage wildlife and biodiversity, and not only that, they look pretty nice as well.

Heck, trees are almost as cool as courgettes!

See you at Stapleton Station, then, for a locally-sourced gooseberry bush?

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Co-op Car Park Happenings

2012-01-15T16:23:00.000Z

Image via Wikipedia

Two rather different stories from this weekend, both taking place at the Co-op car park on Westbury Court Road.

On Friday early evening, a female office worker returned to her car to find it had been broken into in the car park, around 7.00 pm. She was understandably distressed and was on the phone to the police abut the theft. It is not known whether any items were removed from the vehicle.

On Sunday, I observed a young man dumpster diving in the large red rubbish bin in the same car park. I had often thought this was an obvious spot for a bit of freeganism, but had never actually seen it taking place here. The diver was a young man - would estimate he was in his early twenties - wearing a pair of red shorts and a tee- shirt and carrying a rucksack. After making his preliminary sweep of the site, he returned and leaned head first into the oversize dumpster in search of edibles. I was surprised how long he remained in an inverted position. His feet and legs only were visible as he rummaged through the co-op detritus.

The young man emerged with what looked like a couple of loafs of bread and one or tow other items - all wrapped in their original packaging and all, apparently, fit for human consumption, despite being past their legal sell-by date.

A fellow Westbury resident, who worked at a Clifton branch of Starbucks, tells me that after the cafe closed, unsold food items were regularly placed outside in or next to the bins. Company policy did not allow employees to take food home, or to re-sell or give it away. Which doesn't mean, of course, that people could not help themselves were they so inclined.

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Costa Coffee and the Law

2011-12-28T12:46:00.002Z

Sustainable Redland » Blog Archive » Costa, the law, and local jobs:

This from Sustainable Redland:

Here’s a list of some of the places where Costa has opened without planning permission and has not had to back down; Portishead, Clevedon, Cornwall, Herts, Southend, Thatcham, Crowthorne, Morpeth, Beverley, Cambridge, Barnstaple, Lymington, Havant, Lytham St Annes, Cheltenham, Oxted, Darlington, Glasgow, Trowbridge, Epping, Skipton, Ceredigion, Aberystwyth, Torfaen, Rayleigh…

In fact, in arguing with planners they use this as grounds for why there is no point refusing them permission – they will ignore it.

The issue is of particular significance locally because of the ongoing reality of a Costa Coffee operating in Cotham without planning permission highlighted previously in this blog. I wonder whether if a supermarket chain operated in such an allegedly high-handed manner, there wold not be more of a public outcry.

How would Costa cope with a boycott of its chains in Bristol until it complied with local planning regulations?

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Mary Portas and Westbury on Trym: Lessons to Learn or Red-Haired Herring?

2011-12-13T11:38:00.001Z

Mary Portas has delivered her report on the future of high street retailing to the Prime Minister today and wants to pilot some of her ideas in ten retail locations around the country.

Does the Queen of Shops have practical wisdom for Westbury on Trym, or is her business model unsustainable in the Age of Austerity?

Inevitably, such a report will be summarised by the media into bite-sized chunks. In fact, 10 Downing Street's Press Office has produced its own summary. Her Retail Majesty's recommendations include:

strengthening the management of high streets through new ‘town teams’
ensuring a "town-centre-first" approach in planning and encouraging large retailers to show their support for high streets
looking at disincentives for landlords leaving properties vacant and empowering local authorities to step-in when landlords are negligent

The final item on this list may resonate with local businesses in Westbury on Trym, many of whom have seen their rental prices rise dramatically in recent years. The closures of gift and card shop Me to You in Charlton Court and the memorably-named K Stabb shoe shop have been blamed partly on these price rises.

Meanwhile, Westbury's love affair with coffee shops seems to be showing no sign of abating, with a new Costa Coffee opened on Westbury Hill and yet another cafe proposed for the now empty unit in Carlton Court.

Receiving less publicity in the Portas report are a number of potentially radical options for high street revitalisation. These include

Virtual local high streets on line. Could Westbury shop owners benefit from a local shared site where they could sell online, without the cost and hassle of setting up separate individual web sites?
Local markets to supplement retails shops. We already have monthly farmers' market. Is there an appetite for developing this resource?
WorkShops. Portas writes: "Instead of working from home people should have the chance to come onto the high street and work together in ‘hubs’, re-appropriating vacant units to create a shared space where entrepreneurs can work and be creative with ‘hotdesking’ for start-ups. I want to see working co-ops in town centres using other vacant units as ‘showrooms’ for their products and services." Interestingly, Bristol is a national centre for this type of co-working. Could the idea be more widely applied to local independent business owners in the BS9 area?

Comments welcome, as always.

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The Night Before Christmas - Bristol Style

2011-12-08T20:14:00.000Z

Plenty of Westbury-on-Trym content in this seasonal greeting. Enjoy.

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Nick Gibb Visits Bristol Free School

2011-12-07T23:24:00.000Z

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New Bookshop Opens

2011-11-24T03:03:00.000Z

In the age of Amazon and Kindle, it's surprising to hear of a new independent bookshop opening its doors for business.

Hydra, which launches in Old Market this week, aims to specialise in "radical" literature with an emphasis on hard-to-find independent publications covering politics, history, environmentalism and feminism.

Run as a workers' co-operative, Hydra opens between 8.00 and and 6.00 pm Tuesday to Friday and on Saturday afternoons.

The venue also contains a coffee shop and can be hired as a meeting place. As it says, "a space for exchanging ideas as well as finding books."

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Undercover police in Bristol’s new Costa « Bristol Culture

2011-11-23T13:10:00.001Z

Undercover police in Bristol’s new Costa « Bristol Culture

A disturbing first-hand account of a plain clothes police officer quizzing a fellow blogger who had taken two photographs of the new Costa cafe on Gloucester Road. Read the story here.

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A Hard Day at the Cafe for Westbury Costa Owner

2011-11-21T21:07:00.000Z

Westbury on Trym resident Stuart Montgomery has had a challenging start to the working week. The former soldier was due to open a new Costa Coffee franchise on Gloucester Road today but his efforts were greeted by protesters claiming that the new store does not have planning permission, having had its application refused by Bristol City Council. The Council decision follows the submission of a 3,000-name petition in September by residents and users of Gloucester Road who claimed that the store would damage local independent businesses. Franchise holder Stuart Montgomery, who also runs Costas in Henleaze and Portishead, is appealing against the Council's decision.

Meanwhile, the Council has served an enforcement notice on Mr Montgomery for another of his Costa outlets on Whiteladies Road. As previously reported on Trym Tales, the Clifton branch has opened without planning permission for a change of use for the building on Cotham Hill.

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Westbury Businessman Opens Whiteladies Costa Coffee Without Planning Permission

2011-11-08T23:38:00.000Z

The recently-opened Costa Coffee shop on Whiteladies Road, which has opened without planning permission for a change of use, is owned by Westbury businessman Stuart Montgomery.

Mr Montgomery is a former soldier and also owns the Costa franchises in Portishead and Henleaze.

Earlier this year, Mr Montgomery was invited to become a member of the Leadership Group of the Prince's Trust charity.

The new shop is at the junction with Cotham Hill and was previously Derbyshire's Newsagents before it was converted into cafe.

Mr and Mrs Montgomery have "retail use" planning permission, allowing them to use the ground floor as a coffee shop with four chairs and one table. According to the City Council, the couple are breaking the terms of the planning rules by trading as a full-size coffee shop.

Earlier in the summer, Stuart Montgomery was voted Franchisee of the Year by Costa Coffee UK. He was quoted by Franchise News at the time saying that he wanted to open up to sixty additional coffee shops in the future. There are currently around 1200 Costa outlets across the UK.

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Courgettes: the Answer to Everything

2011-09-25T10:11:00.000+01:00

Image via Wikipedia

My initial introduction to the humble courgette was not a positive one.

Presented as an over-cooked, soggy item, stuffed with other over-cooked oily vegetables, the courgette was, when I first met it, assigned a place on the only-eat-if-desperate list of foodstuffs.

All that has changed this summer as the Trym household have harvested their first crop of the dark green vegetable and have discovered that it is not only as versatile as the potato, but is quite likely to be the answer to world peace as well.

Part of the squash family, and therefore originally from North America, the courgettes (or zucchini as the Americans and Australians call them) sold in shops are typically around 8 inches long. Readers can only imagine my surprise, therefore, when the Trym vegetable patch starting producing monster courgettes between two and three feet in length.

These marrow-sized squashes (courgettes are technically a fruit, for reasons I don't fully understand) are a wonder to behold and at times the Trym kitchen has resembled the scene from Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were Rabbit where the villagers are holding their over-size vegetable competition.

I appreciate the efficiency of the courgette. With the exception of the small external stalk, the entire thing can be eaten. No pips to remove, no core, no skin to peel off. 100% pure nourishment.

Not only do the courgettes seem to like Westbury on Trym's limestone soil, the finished product can be used in a wide range of meals from soups to casseroles, meat, lasagna and pasta dishes, as well as stuffed and baked or as a side dish in their own right.

Last week I made and froze a lake of spicy courgette soup that will keep the household fed through the winter. The recipe is here, should you be so inclined.

One word of warning: the plants themselves grow to a huge size. The mature plant reminds me of the pods placed in suburban gardens by the aliens in the film Invasion of the Body Snatchers (I refer of course to the 1978 remake starring Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams and Leonard Nimroy).

Cinematographic comparisons not withstanding, the courgette is a marvelous plant and should be planted and consumed by all those seeking a sustainable and tasty future.

Thank you.

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Nick Clegg rules out running free schools for profit

2011-09-05T11:39:00.001+01:00

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BBC News - Nick Clegg rules out running free schools for profit

The drift, without the LibDem veto, would seem to have been towards state-funded Free Schools being run for a profit.

The issues, of course, are not quite as clear cut as the above BBC news article might suggest.

The partner organisations to Free Schools are allowed to pay their directors a salary. But they are not permitted to pay them dividends, as one might expect in a "pure" profit- making company.

Having said this, the ability of Free Schools to manage their own budgets and set their own salary arrangements, does imply that they should run within budget. Indeed, through letting of their buildings and other money-raising initiatives, it would be unusual if such schools were expected to run at a loss.

For now, however, the idea of "for profit" companies running and profiting from state-funded schools seems to be on hold.

At the moment.

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Oasis Academy Becomes St Ursula's (Again)

2011-08-25T12:01:00.000+01:00

The former St Ursula's School on Brecon Road is to re-open - sort of.

Just when it seemed that north-west Bristol's complicated state school provision had been finalised, further complexity has been added by the planned opening of a new state-funded primary academy on the site of the former St Ursula's/Oasis School in Westbury on Trym next week.

The background to the proposed opening of the St Ursula's E-ACT Academy is as follows:

The original St Ursula's Roman Catholic all-age fee-paying school went into administration in August of 2010 as a result of declining student numbers.
The school site - formerly owned by the Catholic order The Sisters of Mercy - was bought by Bristol City Council for £2 million as part of a rescue package worked out between administrators Grant Thornton and the Council.
As part of this rescue package, external education provider Oasis Community Learning, based in London, agreed to submit a bid to open a state-funded academy on the St Ursula's site. Oasis currently runs two other state academies in Bristol - in Shirehampton and Hengrove. Because of the time constraints, and in order to avoid disrupting the education of the remaining St Ursula's pupils, Oasis agreed to run the school as a fee-paying independent school for one year while the academy application was submitted and processed by the Department of Education.
In March of 2011, the academy application involving Oasis was turned down by the Department of Education.
A new application was submitted, this time for a primary-only academy. In May, education provider E-ACT was chosen as the proposed sponsor to open the new academy, on the site of the existing Oasis School.
The new primary academy is due to open in September, receiving the former primary school students from Oasis and, according to the E-ACT website, 60 additional reception-age pupils.
Despite the new school being a non faith-based academy, the name of the new academy will be St Ursula's E-ACT Academy.

Meanwhile, the Bristol Free School will be opening its doors from September for secondary age students,at the former government offices on Burghill Road in Brentry. In April of this year, the Council agreed in principle to allow the Bristol Free School to relocate to the St Ursula's/Oasis site, while the new St Ursula's Academy remained on site as well. The proposal is for two separate schools to be based on the Brecon Road site from Sept 2012.

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Bristol Free School Opens Shopfront in Westbury on Trym

2011-07-10T12:26:00.000+01:00

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Bristol Free School, due to open in the former government offices in Burghill Road in September, has set up shop in Westbury Hill. The retail unit next door to Oxfam was formerly home to the unfortunately-named K Stabb shoe shop which has recently ceased trading. A large advert for the Bristol Free School has appeared in the shop window inviting parents to register their interest in their children attending the new school.

Although Free Schools are non-selective, the large advert in the village does contain a number of graphic and textual markers which function as code for the kind of school being proposed for BS9's new secondary. These include:

a formal uniform, including blazers and ties for boys, only available from IKON Schools at Henleaze Road. Similar uniforms cost around £250 or more from IKON. Unlike state secondaries, such as Redland Green School, the Free School contains no information on its website about any financial assistance that might be available to families who might not be able to afford such a uniform.
an "unashamedly traditional" curriculum (ie Latin included).
the claim that the school meets a need not provided for elsewhere in the area.

This latter claim is perhaps the most controversial, in the week that head of nearby Henbury School Clare Bradford has claimed that there will be 300 spare places at the city's four local secondary schools this September. The claim that there is limited local secondary school provision is, let's at least be honest, a claim that there is limited secondary school provision that significant numbers of Westbury on Trym parents have confidence in. Which is another matter altogether.

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Bristol Free School: BBC Investigates

2011-07-07T11:06:00.000+01:00

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The proposed Bristol Free School was mentioned several times this morning during a feature on Free Schools on BBC Radio Four.

The Head of Henbury School, Clare Bradford, was quoted on the programme saying that she believes the intake of her comprehensive will be adversely affected by the opening of the Free School in Brentry/Westbury on Trym this September.

The Henbury head also revealed that among the four neighbouring state secondaries in the area, there will be around 300 surplus places this autumn. Although the four schools were not named, it is reasonable to assume that they include Orchard School Bristol (formerly Monks' Park School in Horfield) and Oasis Academy Brightstowe (formerly Portway School in Shirehampton).

Coincidentally, no doubt, this blog was accessed by a computer at the BBC London office at 7.35 this morning as a result of someone in that location searching Google for "Bristol Free School". Good to see that the BBC know where to go to get the inside story on all things BS9-related (and that they do so well in advance of a live national broadcast.)

Other articles on Trym Tales related to the Bristol Free School can be found here.

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Elmlea Academy to Dig up its Field?

2011-07-03T01:18:00.001+01:00

In the week that Elmlea Junior School officially became an independent academy, it has emerged that, despite an original agreement to preserve its playing field, the new school has agreed to allow the neighbouing Infants' School to be redeveloped on the Junior School field.

Last year, when Elmlea Infants' School was seeking permission from Bristol City Council to rebuild on the popular Junior School field, parents and neighbours opposed to the digging up of the field succeeded in halting the plan. A local action group, Acies, was formed and gathered around 1,000 signatures on a petition opposing the development of of the field. Local MP Charlotte Leslie was also a vocal opponent of the move.

Trym Tales understands that, following the transition to an academy - an independent state funded school - Elmlea Junior has gained greater control over the use of the land on which the school sits. Consequently, academy head teacher Claire Galliers has reached an agreement with Infant School head Inge Fey which would allow the Infants School (which remains under LEA control) to use the Junior School playing field as part of its modified development programme. A full rebuild (estimated at £4.5 m) was ruled out last July due to public spending cuts nationally. It is unclear precisely what the nature of the building work on the field may be in light of these cuts. .

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Local Job Opportunities

2011-06-21T20:38:00.001+01:00

Image by Matthew Sylvester via Flickr

Help needed for Saturday farmers' market stall.

'Miles Bradley from Box Bush Farm is urgently looking for a friendly and engaging individual to sell his apple juices on Farmers markets each Saturday in and around North Somerset.

He is looking for someone enthusiastic about local produce to represent his small orchard and sell his traditionally made apple juices on his Box Bush Farm stall.

Hours are likely to be Saturdays 9-1pm plus an hour to both set up and close down and a longer day at the monthly Wells Market from 9 - 3.30pm. Pay likely to be in the region of £6.00 -£7.00 p/hr and will need to be able to drive.

For more information or to discuss this position please call Miles on 01934 822356'

Community Project Worker, Bristol

Great news! Horfield and District Allotment Association has established a new community growing project, with funding from The Big Lottery’s Local Food Fund and Bristol City Council’s Green Capital Fund. They are looking for a worker to take the project forward. The project is funded until March 2014, and will create a community allotment and forest garden.

The Community Project Worker will work with a wide range of community groups and volunteers to engage and support them in food growing activities. The project aims to increase the skills and confidence of local people in growing food through volunteering and training. There is an emphasis on involving people with physical and/or mental ill-health and people with learning difficulties.

This is an exciting opportunity to help establish and develop a project from its beginnings, and to provide a local resource which will make a difference to local people.

The successful candidate will have experience of working with community groups and managing volunteers, will have an enthusiasm for gardening and a flexible approach.

The job details will be available soon and can be downloaded from the Federation of City Farms & Community Gardens website. We are just putting together the final details, and this information should be up on the web by Monday 27 June.

Closing date: Friday 15 July 2011.

See: http://www.farmgarden.org.uk/about-us/jobs (after 27 June!)

Please contact Trym Tales if you would like to promote a free job ad here. Priority will be given to local, community-based work. I can't guarantee to publish everything I receive, etc, etc.

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The Story Behind the Bristol Free School - Part Four

2011-06-21T08:55:00.000+01:00

Although the video is not Bristol-specific, Michael Gove's recent presentation at think tank Policy Exchange provides insight into some of the thinking behind the government's current drive towards Free Schools.

Agree or disagree, it's at least useful to know the thinking that is shaping current policy. The key issue, if I've understood Michael Gove correctly, is diversity within state education provision and freedom of operation at local school level - autonomy as the Secretary of State calls it.

Back to the Bristol Free School story next time....

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The Story Behind the Bristol Free School - Part Three

2011-06-16T01:09:00.000+01:00

The Russell Education Trust - which as we saw in the last post on the subject - is a private company based in Leatherhead, and is the partner organisation for the Bristol Free School, due to open in Westbury on Trym in September 2011.

The Russell Education Trust (RET) is an off-shoot of Education London, a private education company offering a wide range of services from "curriculum planning" to "Enhancing School Image and Pupil Recruitment" and "New Schools". Education London have an ongoing contract with the Department for Education to deliver its Keys to Success programme in London schools.

Many of the same people are involved in both companies, notably Daniel Lynch and Karen Lynch, who are described in official documents as education consultants. Both individuals are named as directors of Education London, incorporated in February 2003. The same individuals are named at Companies' House as the founding directors of the Russell Education Trust.

Not only that, both Education London and the Russell Education Trust are based at the same building in Leatherhead:

James House,
Bridge Street,
Leatherhead

KT22 7EP

Here's the building, courtesy of Google Street View.

View Larger Map

More on the Lynchs and Education London in the next update....

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Westbury Park Festival Running This Week

2011-06-14T14:22:00.001+01:00

Here's what's happening.

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Bristol headteacher threatens legal action on ‘free school’ | Bristol24-7

2011-06-14T09:36:00.002+01:00

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Bristol headteacher threatens legal action on ‘free school’ | Bristol24-7

Clare Bradford, headteacher of Henbury School, has threatened to take legal action over the proposed Bristol Free School, due to open in Westbury on Trym this September.

The head has written to the Department for Education, saying she will seek a judicial review if funding is approved, claiming that the new school has been set up without sufficient local consultation, and that its impact will be to reduce numbers at other local secondary schools, thereby reducing funding and range of subjects offered at schools such as Henbury.

The Bristol Free School will be the largest of its type in the country if it opens as planned.

Full story.

Follow the Free School story on Trym Tales here.

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The Story Behind the Bristol Free School - Part Two

2011-06-06T19:51:00.001+01:00

The first thing that surprised me about the Russell Education Trust - who are the official partners for the Bristol Free School which is due to open in September 2011 - is that, despite their name, they are not in fact a charitable trust.

Having worked in the charitable sector myself for twenty years, I thought I had a reasonable grasp of at least some of the specific language and terminology associated with charitable trusts. Clearly, my knowledge was incomplete.

The Russell Education Trust are a private limited company, created as recently as November 2010. Under government rules, a company can use the word "trust" instead of the more commercially-sounding "limited" in its name if the following conditions are met:

the company must be a private company limited by guarantee
the objectives of the company must include the "promotion or regulation of commerce, art, science, education, religion, charity or any profession."
company members cannot receive dividends from the company (though they can receive salaries)

The company's official address is

1st Floor James House

Emlyn Lane

Leatherhead

Surrey

KT22 7EP

Interested parents might wish to take note of that address. As we shall see, it crops up more than once in connection with privately-owned education companies/trusts in recent years.

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The Story Behind the Bristol Free School - Part One

2011-06-03T00:46:00.000+01:00

While much of the local media's attention around the opening of the Bristol Free School in September 2011 has understandably concentrated on the practical issues of where it will be, when it will open and who can gain admission to the school, the wider back-story remains to be told.

In particular, little has been written about the partners for the new school - the Russell Education Trust.

Over the next few postings to Trym Tales, I will attempt to explore this group, who will be the official partners for the Bristol Free School. I will attempt to address some key questions about the Russell Education Trust such as

who they are
who owns and runs the trust
what their powers are and how they are derived
what other education work they are involved in
what their history may suggest about their future role in the Bristol Free School

It is a story that in many ways acts as a useful case study, taking us to the heart of the government's education philosophy. Understanding the back story to the Bristol Free School will help parents understand the wider changes in educational policy and practice that the Free School and Academy movements represent.

Watch this space for further developments.

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A Walk on the Mild Side at Bath Spa University

2011-06-02T22:33:00.000+01:00

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Visiting Bath Spa University today on family business, I was struck by the beauty of its Newton Park campus on the outskirts of Bath.

The grounds form part of the Newton Park Estate, an C18 landscaped estate designed by Capability Brown. The country house is a Grade I listed building and now houses the University's administration services.

Additional striking features of the Bath Spa campus include a 14th century castle keep, a medieval manor house and Elizabethan farm buildings. There are also lakes and extensive grounds. Not to mention some teaching buildings and halls of residence, of more recent origin.

Strolling out of the campus grounds, I stumbled into the hamlet of Newton St Loe, a picturesque traditional village complete with an old school, old post office, old rectory (there's a theme emerging here) and old church. The village is also the site of the Duchy of Cornwall's local office, pictured, the occupants of which (I muttered to myself in the way that only an ignorant townie could) must not be exactly swept off their feet with passing trade.

The Duchy, in fact, owns the village of Newton St Loe (hence its pristine and uniform appearance) along with the Bath Spa Newton Park campus and the adjacent manor of Inglescombe. In total, the estate's 6,300 acres make it the Duchy of Cornwall's largest estate with the exception of its Dartmoor holdings, comprising 100 houses and cottages, a golf course, 14 farms, three village halls and 160 hectres of woodland.

The original land, as with much of the prime real estate in England, was "granted" to one of William the Conqueror's Norman knights, one Roger de Santo Laudo [St Loe] following the Norman Conquest. as a gift from the new conquering king. The Doomsday Book describes the site as Niwetone and mentions the previous occupant as the very Saxon-sounding (and by 1066 the presumably dead or homeless) Aelfric.

Newton St Loe is also the site of a Roman farming settlement, which features in the first chapter of a local history book I am currently writing, but which you may have to wait some time to read. Plug finished.

Even further back in time, the part of the Newton estate which boarders the River Avon contains evidence of glaciation in the area and the remains of horses and mammoths have been unearthed on the site.

On the subject of ancient relics, Prince Charles has this year found himself in dispute with the local Bath and North East Somerset Council over their refusal to allow the Duchy to construct a massive development of 2,000 homes on the green fields surrounding Newton Park. The Duchy is believed to be planning to challenge the Council's decision. The local Parish Council have siad they are "bewildered that the Prince of Wales should be encouraging this action".

The Duchy's £600 million property portfolio produces Prince Charles with an annual income of £17 million.

Worth a visit if you're in the area. Before it gets turned into a royal car park.

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Stokes Croft Latest

2011-05-23T20:41:00.000+01:00

Tonight's Stokes Croft neighbourhood meeting, held at the Salvation Army building, produced the following pieces of news. About 70 in attendance - thanks for those live tweeting the event.

the BBC are reporting that Tesco are considering not re-opening their Stokes Croft store - will make final decision after meeting with council tomorrow
Tesco representative Michale Kissman says Tesco hopes to work with "local groups" on a way forward
Police officer at the meeting has stated that petrol bombs WERE found at the squat opposite Tesco the day before the April riot.
Separately, Boston Tea Party have announced they are opening a branch in Stokes Croft and looking to employ four baristas. Location to be announced "soon". Wonder where that might be??

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Stokes Croft Riot: What Took Place Hour by Hour?

2011-04-28T22:52:00.002+01:00

The following is an attempt to piece together the events surrounding the Stokes Croft Riot last week, as they unfolded, drawing on eye-witness descriptions, blogs, media reports, police statements, video and photographic evidence and social media updates.

This is not an overt interpretation of the events, or a comment on their causes. It is simply an attempt to discover as many of the key facts, as far as that is possible. Any omissions or corrections are invited via the comments button.

Thursday 21st April

Mid-afternoon

Writing on Indymedia, Caoimhin states that "bailiffs and a man from Bristol City Council" arrived at the ‘Telepathic Heights’ squat on Stokes Croft to begin an eviction. According to the report, "a protest quickly gathered and the bailiffs were forced to withdraw." Source.

4.15 pm

Local LibDem councillor Jon Rogers claims in his Twitter feed (retrospectively) that in briefings he received from the police, a report of a petrol bomb at the squat was received via a police officer in the area:

"Alleged sighting reported at 16:15. Understand it was police that had spotted, but may have also been Tesco staff. "

"Beat police on scene at 16:15, petrol bomb suspected, police plans made, 20:30 raid on squat."

"Police confirm police operation started at 21:15 not 20:30 as I had been briefed. " Source.

8.30 pm

Anti-Tesco activist Mal had been maintaining a peaceful protest outside the Stokes Croft store during the day. Around 8.30 pm she claims that one of the security guards working at the Tesco store said to her, "They've got petrol bombs over there!" referring to the squat known as Telepathic Heights opposite the Tesco Store. Source.

9.15 pm

Police officers from Avon and Somerset Police closed Cheltenham Road in order to secure the area around the squat. The police claim that they received intelligence on the day itself (April 21st) that there was an immediate "danger to the local community." Source.

Tom (no surname) told Radio 5's Victoria Derbeyshire programme that road blocks were set up at the junctions where Cheltenham Road meets Arley Hill, and further down at the junction of Cheltenham Road and Ashley Road. Source.

Jon Rogers states that there were three police vans involved in this initial operation, with three additional vans of officers held in reserve. Source.

Having secured the road, police officers forced their way into the building and arrested four people. Three were arrested on suspicion of public order offences and the fourth on suspicion of threats to cause criminal damage with intent to endanger life. Source.

Gavin Houghton, a resident of the squat, says that he saw 30 to 40 police outside the building, in riot clothing. On storming the property, Houghton claims, "one of the officers barged me in the face with his shield and pushed me across the room and told me to sit down on the floor. Whilst he was pushing me I said, 'Leave me alone, I'm not doing anything to you.' Then he started shouting, 'Sit there, don't move.' Source.

Houghton claims that the residents of the squat were not involved in an anti-Tesco campaign and that they had no intention of attacking the store with petrol bombs or otherwise. Source.

Jon Rogers notes (retrospectively) from his police briefing that three of those arrested were "at or near the property" that was raided and that only one person was arrested "inside" the squat. Rogers notes that "Early police press release inaccurate." Source.

9.30 pm - 4.30 am

A police helicopter was deployed overhead throughout the operation. Source

The police say that eight arrests were made during the course of the night and that eight police officers were injured and required hospital treatment. Injuries to police officers included head, neck and shoulder injuries and twisted ankles. One officer had teeth knocked out. Source.

9.30 pm

During and after the initial police operation at Telepathic Heights, a crowd started to gather close to the area sealed off by the police. Source.

Neurobonkers, a post-graduate student who lives in the area, says he saw "approximately 10" police vans in the cordoned off area around this time. Source.

10.00 pm

Nick Jones (a resident) reports that from "about 10 or 10.30" bottles and stones started to be thrown by some members of the crowd at the police lines. He refers to a black recycling box being overturned and the bottles inside it being used. Source.

The police also claim that minor fires were started at this time on and around the road. The official police estimate of the crowd at this time is around 300. It is after this initial phase of confrontation that the police claim they called for backup from neighbouring forces.

"When 300 people congregated and a small minority from that group started small fires and throwing bottles, stones and other items at officers, we used well-rehearsed plans, which involved the use of officers from neighbouring forces to control what had become a volatile situation," said ACC Hansen.

The police note that 66 of the officers deployed that night were from neighbouring forces, of an official police total of 160. Source.

Caoimhin says that "the police used baton charges, dogs, horses and vans to repel these sporadic and rather ineffectual attacks" during this phase. Source.

11.00 pm

The spate of stone and bottle throwing appears to have died down. A "party-like" atmosphere appears to have broken out. Oli Connor arrived around this time. He claims there were around 160 police officers on the scene:

"When I arrived at the scene everything was relatively peaceful. The police were holding a line to prevent people reaching Telepathic Heights and members of the public were asking them what was happening and why there were so many officers. The mood began to take on the feel of a small festival, the crowd cheered when somebody started playing some R & B music through a small sound system."

Neurobonkers reports (from the Ashley Road end of the police cordon) reports a slightly different scene around this time:

"The police charged violently in to a street full of bystanders in reaction to a violent onslaught by a small group throwing bottles. The reaction of my neighbours made me proud. When the police entered Picton street and pushed everyone that was stepping outside to see what was going on to the end of the street everyone calmly sat on the floor and began singing peace songs. The police clearly got a call for backup from their colleagues who had continued to charge down St. Andrews road (for a good 7-800 metres). What happened next was fantastic, the police calmly walked backwards out of the street. As the police began to retreat someone hung a boombox out of the window and played “Beat it” by Michael Jackson. The crowd joined in and serenaded them out. Serenaded isn’t the right word but you get the gist." Source.

Meanwhile, on Ashley Road, Omar Ashaq, the owner of Supermasriq stores, said he had been stranded in his shop from about 11pm. "I looked about the window and there were people throwing bottles and burning bins. I dropped the shutters and locked the door." Source.

Friday 22nd April

00.15

Avon and Somerset Police release a news item confirming that the original operation has taken place and that a number of items have been removed from the squat - "including possible petrol bombs." Source.

00.30 am

Caoimhin reports that the police started to make "forays" up Nine Tree Hill, reaching as far as the traffic barriers at Fremantle Square "where for a short period they formed a shield wall and then retreated." The result of this tactic, it is claimed, was "to cause a violent overspill into Kingsdown, where more bottles could be thrown, bins overturned and set on fire." Source.

A similar tactic appears to have been used on Ashley Road and on Picton Street during this phase of the disturbance,.Neurobonkers reports:

"I was on the junction of stokes croft high street when the police charged what was only at that point a croud (sic) of about 100 but which quickly grew down Ashley Road pretty much all the way to the end of it over the course of a couple of hours. Due to the absolute confusion a number of people had emerged from their houses only to shortly find they were the wrong side of a road block and got roped in to what became a three hour running battle through pretty much all of the back streets coming off Ashley road croft and in to St Pauls, numerous burning barricades were erected and a huge amount of people were battered and bloodied by police for attempting to approach police lines to get home and find friends. By this point there was devastation everywhere. All junctions were blocked by overturned glass bottle dumpsters and makeshift neighbourhood roadblocks." Source.

Adam Ford was also in Ashley Road at this time. He reports fighting moving deeper into St. Pauls and two lines of barricades and bins being set on fire on Brigstocke Road. He observed some local black youth taking part at this stage. He also notes both support and criticism being expressed by several older residents, some of whom lived in the area during the St Pauls riot of 1980. Source.

01.00

A "different section" of people turned up and "it developed from there,"according to local resident Nick Jones.

Further waves of bottles and stones were thrown at the police, who were still holding a line on the Cheltenham Road before breaking and pursuing those involved. Jones reports running battles up and down the road and some of the rioters carrying "weapons". The context of the claim suggests these may have been poles or extended pieces of wood or metal. (Nick Jones, source.)

Leo Nikolaidis, a Bristol University graduate and former contributor to Venue magazine, describes being "on the bottom of Ninetree Hill and some pretty big bricks were smashing through and bouncing off police vehicle windows." He says that very few of those taking part had covered their faces at this stage. Source.

Oli Connor notes that some of the crowd began erecting barriers made of dust bins and large pieces of wood, though he does not state exactly where these were placed. He also describes youths in masks appearing at this stage.

"One began tying the barricade together with rope and using another rope as a trip wire. The crowd started chanting 'our streets' and others from the neighbourhood came out to see what was happening. "

Connor further reports the police storming forwards, shouting. He himself ran away but saw others trip over the barricade and several hit by riot shields and police batons. He adds, "Anyone who tried to help the fallen met with a similar punishment." Source.

01.30? am

Connor: reports seeing "a seemingly unconscious man being dragged across the floor by two police officers as if he was a doll, his face covered with blood."

He also claims that the police attempted to leave around this time but were "kettled" by the large number of protesters who surrounded the police vans.

Nikolaidis also describes police officers in riot gear crowding into their vans for protection at this stage. Source.

Neurobonkers also reports the police on Cheltenham Road retreating into their vehicles around this time:

"The police started making arrests and then all hell broke loose. Missiles began coming down from youths who'd climbed on to the buildings surrounding the Metropolis (Jesters) and police brought out dogs to clear people from the street, quite a few got bitten. Meanwhile a lot of police vans had their tyres let out. At that point the dogs retreated and the convoy of about 10 vans that were surrounded drove at speed through the crowd clipping a large number of people on their way out. Both Tesco and telepathic heights were abandoned by the police." Source.

As police exited these vans, Connor claims that protesters sat down in front of them, linking arms. He claims that the police attacked several of these protesters with riot shields and by kicking them. He refers to seeing several female protesters "lying on the floor crying with bloody faces." Source.

Connor also claims that his phone was smashed by a police officer during this phase and that his girlfriend was "smacked aggressively" by police riot shields as she tried to retrieve it.

Connor reports that the police eventually left the immediate area of the squat after the above confrontation, by driving their vans through the crowd.

As the crowd cheered their departure, a shout of "To Tesco!" was heard from within the crowd. Masked individuals with metal bars and other objects began smashing the glass at the front of the store, while the crowd cheered and applauded.

Later on, as the police had retreated to Stokes Croft itself, "the police started making arrests and then all hell broke loose. Missiles began coming down and police brought out dogs to clear people from the street, quite a few got bitten. Meanwhile a lot of police vans had their tyres let out. At that point the dogs retreated and the convoy of about 10 vans that were surrounded drove at speed through the crowd clipping a large number of people on their way out. Both Tesco and telepathic heights were abandoned by the police." Source.

A report from the Bristol Anarchist Federation claims that during this phase, and following the attack on Tesco's, a police vehicle was also "smashed" and a police trailer looted of its riot equipment. Following this, a skip was dragged into the road, apparently in an attempt to limit the movement of police vehicles in the street. The site further claims that Tesco was invaded a second time and that objects were thrown from adjacent rooftops at the police. It is unclear whether this account is first-hand. Source.

2.00 am?

Caoimhin observed ongoing running battles between police and citizens, claiming that by this time the crowd consisted not only of "anarchists" but young people "of all social classes and ethnic backgrounds." He (?) also observed some older people taking part and several children as well. Source.

Adam Ford places the first attack on Tesco's around this time (2.30) - rather later than the time suggested by other witnesses or participants. he also notes a police car being set on fire at the same time. Ford agrees that the main focus of the riot after this event was at the junction of Ashley Road and Stokes Croft, "when people were throwing staff from the Ninetree Hill down on the vans, trying to join the rest of us." Source.

It may have been during the attack on Tesco's that a window panel at Fred Baker Cycles was smashed. The store is next door to the new Tesco. Store manager Geoff Gardiner says that "Plate glass of that size will cost about £600 to repair." The shop was forced to close the next day, resulting in a significant loss of trade: "On a nice, sunny Good Friday like this we could have done some good trade. If we can't open again tomorrow, that's £6,000 or £7,000 we've missed out on." Further damage was done to the Bristolian Café on Picton Street Source.

View Larger Map

3.00? am

Connor attends the Accident & Emergency department of an unnamed hospital to receive treatment for a "head injury" caused by a "stray brick" which required stitches. Source.

At the hospital, Connor claims to meet several other injured people. These include:

A 17 year old who had tripped over the makeshift barricades as the police moved forward around 1.00 am. He says that while on the floor he had been hit with a baton across the face and on the back of his head. Connor describes a "large bloody wound on the back of his head" and his face being "blue and swollen." He also had a large bruise on his arm, resulting from him being struck as he tried to defend himself from the police.
A man with bite marks from a police dog.
A man who had been "clubbed around the head" who claimed that he had only been in the area because he was trying to buy some milk from local shops.
A man with a suspected broken foot claims that it was driven over by a police van.

09.41

Avon and Somerset Police release a statement, including the claim that the items recovered from the squat included "petrol bombs – which are currently being forensically examined." Source.

Tuesday 26th April

10.45

Avon and Somerset Police release details of those arrested during the disturbances and original operation:

A 16-year-old youth from Bristol, arrested on suspicion of affray. He has been released on police bail, pending further enquiries.
A 27-year-old man from Bristol, who was arrested on suspicion of affray was given a police caution.
A 31-year-old man from Bristol, arrested on suspicion of violent disorder was released on police bail, pending further enquiries.
Steven Brand, aged 19, from Frome, who was arrested on suspicion of burglary has been charged to appear at Bristol Magistrates Court on May 17.
A 19-year-old man from Bournemouth, who was arrested on suspicion of violent disorder, was released without charge.
On Saturday morning four people arrested appeared at Bristol Magistrates Court:
Josef Janacek, aged 26, of no fixed address pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer and was sentenced to a 12 month conditional discharge
Joseph Foster aged 20, of no fixed address, who was charged with having an article with intent to destroy/damage property and threats to destroy/damage property has been remanded in custody to appear at Bristol Magistrates Court on Thursday (April 28).
Oliwia Torres, aged 24 years of Bristol, who was charged with affray and released on bail to appear at Bristol Magistrates Court on June 17.
James Hutton, aged 40, of Bristol was charged with violent disorder and has been remanded in custody to appear at Bristol Magistrates Court tomorrow (Wednesday April 27).

Images Stringberd.

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A Polite Request from St Andrews Park

2011-04-28T11:05:00.000+01:00

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Party On for the Royal Wedding

2011-04-20T01:39:00.001+01:00

Westbury on Trym's reputation as the party capital of Bristol (ahm) will be enhanced next Friday as the village hosts not one but eight street parties on the day of the royal wedding.

With so much bunting, sausage rolls and royal revelry to fit in to a single day, Trym Tales is pleased to present the official eco-friendly walking tour of Westbuty's street parties on April 29th.

Starting at Downs Cote Avenue, just off Falcondale Road, the committed gatecrasher should follow a broadly clockwise route around the outskirts of Canford Park, before heading back along Canford Lane and ending up at College Road for live music (allegedly) outside the Villager Restaurant. The roads highlighted have all applied for road closure orders on the big day, according to Bristol City Council's website.

With so many road closure orders in place on the great day, pedestrian power or cycles will be the only viable options for the serious party hopper.

View Larger Map

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New Bristol Harbourside Market to launch on May Bank Holiday weekend - 11 April 2011 - Guide2Bristol News

2011-04-14T00:56:00.000+01:00

New Bristol Harbourside Market to launch on May Bank Holiday weekend - 11 April 2011 - Guide2Bristol News

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Six Ways Twitter has Helped my Business

2011-04-12T14:44:00.000+01:00

Image via CrunchBaseI run my own business in Redland.

I use Twitter.

Here's how the latter has helped me with the former.

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Badger

2011-04-08T23:11:00.000+01:00

Image via WikipediaWas it a fat cat?

It was certainly not a fox (too low and with no bushy tail).

Finally, I twigged. It was a badger running at some speed across Trym Road and then up across Church Road (in front of the Villager Restaurant) this evening about 10.00 pm.

It was the first time I had seen a badger in the village itself - as opposed to in a garden or on the golf course.

I wonder if this represents a new trend in the human-wildlife balance in Westbury.

Are urban badgers going to become the new foxes?

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Foodbank Launched at Oasis

2011-04-02T10:11:00.000+01:00

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As an indication of the growing need, and the willingness of local churches and others to get involved, North west Bristol now has its own foodbank.

The new service was launched in February as a collaborative project between churches in Avonmouth and Kingsweston and the Oasis Brightstowe Community Hub - the academy on the site of the former Portway School in Shirehampton.

Foodbanks exist to meet the practical needs of people who are going through a period of crisis and are struggling to feed themselves and their families. The local foodbank is focusing its efforts on households in Shirehampton, Sea Mills, Lawrence Weston and Avonmouth.

The north-west Bristol foodbank is open year round at the following times and locations:

Monday 9:30-11:30

St Andrews Church

Avonmouth

Bristol

BS11 9FE

(buses 41, 41A, 517)

Thursday 10-12

Lawrence Weston Baptist Church

117-119 Long Cross

Lawrence Weston

Bristol

BS11 0HL

(buses 40, 517, 518)

The Foodbank is run by a team of volunteers from churches in the North West Bristol area and offers its service free of charge to anyone in need in the community, regardless of their faith.

Food is currently sourced from schools, churches and individuals. Offers of good quality food to be donated can be made via email here.

The Bristol NW Foodbank is part of a national network of 80+ foodbanks, affiliated to the Trussell Trust.

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Village News

2011-03-26T19:39:00.001Z

A few bits and pieces that have caught my attention recently in and around the village:

noticed that large military transport plane flying low in large circles over north-west Bristol on Tuesday (?) Believe it was going through its test flights from Filton.
Canford Park is full of young families on a sunny day. The village population is getting younger, in my observation. Maybe I'm just getting older.
both of the village's primary schools (Elmlea Junior and Westbury C of E Primary) are applying to become academies this summer. More on that story here.
far away (Cribbs causeway), was struck by the long queues forming outside the Apple store at the mall on Friday. Something about the launch of the iPad 2, or something.

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Westbury Schools: an Academy Zone

2011-03-25T23:10:00.000Z

Image via Wikipedia

With both of Westbury on Trym's primary and junior schools applying to become academies, BS9 looks like, by September, it will be a neighbourhood with virtually no LEA influence.

Westbury on Trym C of E Primary is further down the road towards academy status, with formal approval having been given by the Diocesan Board of Education to pursue the academy option and £25,000 from the department of education towards the initial legal and administrative costs of the move. A recent parent questionnaire saw 41 of 45 respondents from the school state that they were in favour of the school becoming an academy.

Elmlea Junior School, meanwhile, has held a public meeting to announce to parents its intentions to seek academy status by the autumn. The process will apparently involve the school becoming a (?) charitable company, rather than the more traditional route of the academy partnering with an external body (such as Oasis Educational Trust or, in the case of Colston's Girls' School, the Mercant Venturers).

The move towards academy status for local primaries was predicted on this blog last May. At the time, I noted that the Ofsted schools rated "outstanding" and which were therefore eligible for fast tracking to academy status, were heavily concentrated geographically in the north and west of Bristol. The LEA, if such schools left its control and became non-fee-paying state-funded independent schools (which is the essential definition of an academy) would then be left with the less well performing schools in the centre, east and south of the city.

I made the following observation at the time which I think is still applicable:

"Such a development would have major implications for the nature of the state education system. I wonder, for instance, how we would feel if this approach were applied to doctor's surgeries or old people's homes. It's one thing for individuals to "go private" with their medical or retirement needs. It's another to have two types of public service offering the same thing (primary schools) but paid for from different pots and serving, in practice, two different groups of the public - broadly speaking , the haves and the have nots."

In the end, the brave new world of the academy model should, in my mind, be evaluated not only by the outcomes of these schools, but by whether the system overall makes it easier or harder for children from low-income backgrounds to gain a good education and be empowered to realise their potential.

At present, the verdict is out on that issue.

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Suburban Mumbo Jumbo at the Chiron Centre

2011-03-19T02:13:00.000Z

Image via Wikipedia

Fifty quid!

It's bad enough that the Chirion Centre (Westbury-on-Trym's leading complementary healthcare centre) is now offering sessions in "Past Life Regression Therapy". But they even have the nerve to charge £50 per session for it.

The "Special Introductory Offer" for a session with therapist Joanne Cole (more on whom later) implies that the fifty quid is a discounted price. I would certainly need some therapy if I were going to pay that much for a session of pseudo-science of the kind being offered at the Centre on Westbury Road.

Cost aside, what of the therapy itself? Past Life Regression Therapy, according to a paid advertorial in this month's copy of the Bristol Nine, looks at "present emotional, physical and spiritual problems which may have their roots in lives lived many years ago." The ad is at least honest enough, therefore, to acknowledge that the practice is rooted in assumptions about the role of "karma" and "reincarnation" - thus locating the worldview of Past Life Regression clearly in westernized forms of Indian religious thought (Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism).

Joanne is explicit about the approach:

"After a pleasant relaxing hypnotic induction you are guided to access a Past Life that is relevant to the problem you are looking to be understood/resolved."

At one level, the editorial can be appreciated as a fine example of "assumptive marketing" - presenting an idea as if it were widely accepted and uncontroversial. Troubled by recurring headaches? Well, clearly you would want to find out how this problem originated, when you were a Japanese milk maid in the sixteenth century, or a French resistance fighter killed in action in the Massif Central. Wouldn't you?

Never mind the science (or lack of it) behind these assumptions.

What of the practitioner - Joanne Cole - who is now offering this "complementary therapy" at the Chiron Centre? Based in Midsomer Norton, Joanne has a string of impressive-sounding qualifications after her name. Let's find out what they mean.

First is her "Adv. Dip. SACH Hyp & Psych". This, I understand, is an Advanced Diploma in Hypnosis and Integrative Psychology awarded by the School of Analytical and Cognitive Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy. SACH (to give the School its official accronym) states that its aim is to "promote the subject of hypnotherapy and hypnoanalysis from the relative obscurity of the fields of alternative and complementary medicine to the mainstream of psychological academic studies, where it rightly belongs."

In light of such an ambitious goal, we could presumably expect to find the staff of the SACH being active in producing original peer-reviewed academic research within their specialist field. Alas, search online as I might for the published works of SACH founder "Professor Jure Biechonski", I cannot find a single published academic work anywhere on the Internet. Nonetheless, the President of the Estonian Transpersonal Association (I kid you not) describes himself as "creator of Transactional Hypnoanalysis" and "specialising in Psychoneuroimmunology."

The alleged-Professor does appear as a speaker at a specialist workshop co-sponsored by the University of Tartu in his native Estonia last month. It is interesting to note that Mr Biechonski is not described in that programme of events as a "Professor", despite formal academic titles being used of other participants in the related events.

SACH does make generic claims on its website about the research and qualifications of its teaching staff, but does not provide any specific qualifications or names of institutions where alleged qualifications were obtained.

SACH lists its address as Suite 105, Dorset House, Duke Street, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 1TB. That'll be just above Mail Boxes, presumably, according to Google Street Map below.

View Larger Map

As for the "Advanced Diploma" awarded to Joanne Cole, the course is equivalent to a City & Guilds NVQ Level 3 qualification in counselling, according to the SACH website.

The Cert E. Hyp is a Certificate in Hypnotherapy validated by The General Hypnotherapy Standards Council (UK). The Cert PLR is a Certificate in Past Life Regression (4 weeks, £299 by several course providers), while the Dip PICT is a Diploma in Parks Inner Child Therapy, a "rapid cognitive therapy". Other qualifications include the General Qualification in Hypnotherapy Practice (GQHP), LHA (Licentiate of The Hypnotherapy Association), and finally the LNCP (Licentiate member of the National Council for Psychotherapists).

It is worth clarifying that all of these courses, qualifications and membership affiliations are run by practitioners within the world of hypnotherapy and related therapies, rather than by external accrediting bodies or degree-conferring institutions.

Ms Cole may possess formal qualifications from mainstream recognised universities, but if so, she has chosen not to refer to them on her profile. Instead, on her website, Joanne reveals her interest in new age spirituality:

"I believe we are individual expressions of Infinite Being who chose to re-incarnate on Earth to experience life from our own unique perspective. We bring with us amnesia, intuition [and] our own personal karma."

We also bring our credit or debit cards, should we wish to divert our family food budget towards Westbury's latest self-actualisation fad.

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Publishing Projects Update

2011-03-15T22:26:00.000Z

In January, I mentioned that I would be publishing a series of essays this year under the working title of Understanding the Times: Essays in Christian Engagement.

The second essay has been published today, a mere ten thousand worder with the alliterative title of Pursuing Peaceful Societies in a Post-Democratic Age.

Enjoy it here.

The photo is the front cover of the essay, The Treaty of Penn with the Indians by Benjamin West, 1772.

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Charlotte Leslie to Debate Public Spending Cuts with Unison Representative

2011-03-10T09:56:00.001Z

Westbury On Trym People | Westbury-on-Trym MP and union rep to debate public spending cuts

Charlotte Leslie debates the issues with Huw Williams on Friday 11 March, 7.30 pm at the United Reformed Church Hall on Muller Road.

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The Kings Speech at the Orpheus

2011-02-06T19:58:00.000Z

Image via WikipediaI haven't met anyone with a bad word to say about The King's Speech.

Enjoyed it very much at the Orpheus, recently acquired by the independently-owned Scott Cinemas, based in Newton Abbott.

There's an interesting example of newsreel from 1938 showing King George VI (played in the film by Colin Firth) stammering noticeably when delivering a speech in Glasgow. The speech starts about half way through the clip here.

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Somerfield Goes Texaco, Goes Co-op

2011-02-01T23:00:00.000Z

Image via Wikipedia

Well what a relief. After two years (almost to the day) that the new Texaco / Somerfield petrol station opened on Falcondale Road, the fraught issue of branding compatibility looks finally as if it is on the way to being resolved, as Westbury on Trym's somnambulant village centre was shaken to life this afternoon with the unexpected arrival of a large articulated lorry carrying the shiny new sign which has since been erected at the front of the petrol forecourt.

The lorry driver making the gargantuan delivery was clearly being directed to his destination by a Sat Nav device. A human being reading a map would have discerned in advance that Eastfield, the High Street and Canford Road were not the obvious choices for a 40 ton vehicle when attempting to reach Falcondale Road from the motorway network.

Traffic chaos notwithstanding, the new sign - with contrasting red and green lights to signify diesel and unleaded prices (guess which is which) marks the end of the signage limbo that has caused such distress among BS9's brand-savvy residents and motorists in recent years.

Now at last we have what we always knew we had: a Co-op store and a Texaco petrol station.

The original Somerfield petrol station that for years stood astride the mighty River Trym, in a mocking anti-environmental fashion, was knocked down in 2007. Several years before that, however, Somerfield (whose head office was in Whitchurch) had bought out the Texaco forecourts in the UK.

Thus armed with a chain of supermarkets and an oil slick of petrol stations, Somerfield was itself taken over in 2007 by the Co-operative.

The takeover of Somerfield by Co-op (the PR called it a merger, but, we all know that there's rarely such a thing in business) led to the re-branding of the Somerfield stores into Co-ops nationwide - including the ones at Carlton Court in the village and on Henleaze Road.

The local exception to this re-branding was the petrol station on Falcondale Road. Whereas the forecourt was branded Texaco, the shop remained resolutely Somerfield - as revealed in this photo taken the day that the new garage opened on February 6th 2008.

Now (happy event!) the old Texaco sign has at last come down and been replaced with .... a new Texaco sign. Close observation reveals that any similarity to the previous placard is entirely superficial. Where once there was "Texaco" and "Somerfield", now at last there is "Texaco" and "Co-op."

At least, there will be once they've finished putting the signs up above the shop entrance and moving various food items from one shelf to another. Thursday 3rd of February, I am reliably informed by sources close to the till, is the day that the store itself officially becomes a Co-op and the mockery of the "partnership" with the now non-existent Somerfield can be finally laid to rest.

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Publishing Projects

2011-01-17T19:31:00.000Z

I have started 2011 with the intention of creating a number of self-published written works, to supplement this blog and others that I maintain.

My two main publishing projects for this year are:

1. A series of essays under the working title of Understanding the Times: Essays in Christian Engagement

2. A book examining the radical Christian history of Bristol.

The series of essays will hopefully be of interest to people of all faiths and none.

The essays will be published once a month on the You Publish site and will be available to download as PDF documents.

In fact, the first essay, setting the scene and introducing the theme, has been uploaded already and can be read here.

Comments welcome, as always.

The image is Ship of Fools by Hieronymus Bosch, and forms the front cover of the first essay.

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Get Going Growing | Transition Bristol

2011-01-17T01:06:00.001Z

Get Going Growing | Transition Bristol

Want to grow your own food in Bristol?

Don't have a garden?

Can't get an allotment?

Click the link.

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Reflections on the Life of Netta Hodges

2011-01-13T09:39:00.000Z

Netta Hodges, born Antoinette Powle, was a close neighbour who passed away on Christmas Day aged 101.

Today, January 13th, Netta will be laid to rest at Canford Cemetery.

I have many happy memories of Netta, culminating in having the privilege of attending her 100th birthday celebration in 2009, during which she told me about seeing a Zeppelin flying over Bristol in World War One. This must have been a terrifying site, Zeppelins having been responsible for the deaths of several hundred British civilians in London and eastern England during the Great War.

I also remember Netta telling me how she looked out of her back garden one light summer's evening in the 1920s - her family lived at that time on Stoke Lane - and seeing the nearby cricket pavilion in flames.

In adult life, Netta worked as a dietician and was a voluntary fire warden during World War Two, living through the bombing raids of Bristol.

Although she was frail in her latter years, Netta remained mentally agile and always happy to chat. The dedication shown by her daughter Hilary and son-in-law Ray Wall as they cared for her in her old age so that she could remain at home was a moving and inspiring sight. Hilary - who lives on the same street as Netta's bungalow - was back and forth to her mother's house every day.

At Netta's 100th, I remember her saying that she didn't think much of the Queen's yellow dress that she was wearing on her official birthday card. My children also remember Netta appearing at the door of her bungalow over Christmas when neighbouring families would gather in the street to sing carols. On several occasions, this annual local tradition was done with snow on the ground, and with Netta wrapped up in a duvet looking on.

Tim Overton - who looked after Netta's garden so well - will be speaking at today's funeral service. Tim is a former student of Trinity College.

The neighbourhood won't be quite the same without Netta. She will be missed.

The Evening Post interviewed her on her 100th birthday, and Netta said: "I think being interested in everything and keeping busy has got me where I am today. My mother was like that. I've had an eventful life and enjoy sitting back and remembering everything I've been fortunate enough to do."

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Jimmy Wales in Bristol: Live Webcast Here

2011-01-13T08:44:00.000Z

Image via WikipediaSo, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales is visiting Bristol today, January 13th. His set piece event is a talk at the University of Bristol at middday.

The presentation is being webcast and is available to view right here, without the pain of leaving Westbury on Trym's leading online independent media outlet.

(Jimmy is the chap who's been asking us for money throughout December, and who says he has "mixed feelings" about Wikileaks.)

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FreeBus Bristol - Home

2011-01-08T23:33:00.001Z

Image by express000 via Flickr

FreeBus Bristol - Home

Bristol's Free Bus project looks like it's gaining momentum.

The concept is simple enough: make bus services free at the point of delivery if those using the service cannot afford to pay.

There's obviously a lot of thinking gone into this, with the first service due to start in the Spring.

Check out the site, follow on facebook, etc.

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Westbury on Trym Centenarian Passes Away

2010-12-28T15:16:00.000Z

Trym Tales is sad to report the death of Westbury on Trym resident, and near neighbour, Netta Hodges.

She was 101.

Netta passed away on Christmas Day afternoon at her bungalow in Westbury-on-Trym.

Trym Tales wishes to pass on its sympathy to Netta's family. Her daughter Hilary Wall was a daily visitor to Netta's home and, with her husband Ray, cared for her mother over many years, enabling her to spend her final years at home.

Netta's granddaughter Mandi and great-granddaughter Charlotte were both in Westbury over the Christmas weekend, on one of their regular visits from their native Denmark.

Netta's funeral is likely to be in the New Year.

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Alternatives to Trym Tales

2010-12-22T12:01:00.000Z

When not publishing Westbury on Trym's leading independent online media outlet (a position that may be challenged in this bleak midwinter by the arrival of The Bristol Nine, to which I offer festive salutations) I have been writing a variety of articles on weighty matters for a range of perspicacious publications across the world wide web.

Should you wish to cast an eye over any of the said articles, they include, The Politics of the X Factor, being a reflection on the statement by Damon of Athens, "Give me the songs of a nation, and it does not matter who writes its laws.”

In addition, Muckrakers: Whistleblowers from America's Gilded Age illustrates that Wikileaks is not a fundamentally new phenomenon. Finally, The Rise of the Data Journalist surveys the way in which open access, freedom of information and colourful mashups are all changing the way that news stories are being researched and reported in the digital age.

Your indulgence is appreciated.

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Last Minute Shopping Bargains - Without the Crowds

2010-12-21T14:22:00.000Z

Image by mattbuck4950 via Flickr

For Westbury on Trym residents celebrating mid-winter festivals this month, and for those who tend to leave gift shopping to the last minute, the arrival of The Original Factory Shop in Shirehampton may provide a welcome alternative to the imaginatively-named The Mall at Cribbs Causeway.

Although the emporium is not on the same gargantuan scale as certain other retail outlets, the Factory Shop offers branded and high street items at significantly lower prices than elsewhere.

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On Carrying Your Licence While Driving

2010-12-09T08:31:00.004Z

Image via Wikipedia

This from Steve Williams, aka MotoringLawyer via Twitter, on my question about whether motorists are required to carry their licences when driving.

"No that's nonsense. Required to produce within 7 days. Police advised me not to carry in car for security!"

So, a lawyer specialising in motoring law tells me that the law does not require me to carry the documents with me while driving. Meanwhile, as reported yesterday, a police officer who stopped me on Whiteladies Road assured me that I was required to carry my licence (both parts), MOT certificate, and insurance certificate every time I was out and about in my vehicle.

Which shows the value of knowing your rights, as without such knowledge, it appears that the police are not always accurate in informing us of them.

Perhaps I will contact Avon and Somerset Constabulary for further comment and clarification.

But first, I'll wait till they get back to me on my previous question on the use of "kettling" during the recent student demonstrations in Bristol.

One thing at a time.

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Henleaze Christmas Festival

2010-12-09T01:07:00.004Z

I didn't get to it myself, but my mate Paul did, and supplied the above photos of what looked like a busy and enjoyable event on Wednesday evening in and around Henleaze Road.

Thanks Paul. Follow him on Twitter!

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Legally Speaking

2010-12-09T00:05:00.003Z

Driving back from town yesterday, I was stopped by a police officer who handed me a leaflet about Operation Tonic, the campaign by Avon and Somerset Constabulary to reduce drink driving. I had forgotten that this is an annual occurrence in early December on Whiteladies Road - education and awareness raising first, followed by a proper crackdown nearer Christmas.

In the course of the conversation with the officer, I was asked if I had my driving licence with me.

When I said I did not, I was politely informed that I was required to carry my licence (both parts), my MOT certificate and my insurance certificate whenever I drive anywhere.

I didn't know this was the law.

Does anyone know whether this is correct, and if so, when these requirements were enacted?

I'll be investigating further.

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Highbridge, Wikileaks, Tyco and Lord Ashcroft

2010-12-07T07:12:00.003Z

I always knew there was something special about Highbridge, north Somerset's answer to Morecombe, and ugly sister to Burnham-on-Sea. Behind the town’s modest appearance, the caravan capital of north Somerset has been slowly, quietly and unassumingly playing the role of Pillar of Western Civilization.

The modest estuary town’s vital role in the trans-Atlantic alliance has only come to light this week thanks to information from Wikileaks which refers to Highbridge as a site of “critical infrastructure” of vital national interest to the United States.

Fancy that.

The leaked diplomatic cable groups the town, along with a range of other infrastructure and supply lines around the world, under America’s National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP). The leaked cable specifically refers to the “Tyco Translantic undersea cable landing” at Highbridge.

A simple Google search then reveals Tyco’s factory in Highbridge, a non-descript warehouse on an industrial estate on Lawrence Close.

View Larger Map

Ironically, considering how easy it appears to have been to access this information, the overarching goal of the NIPP is:

“to build a safer, more secure, and more resilient America by enhancing protection of the nation's Critical Infrastructure to prevent, deter, neutralize or mitigate the effects of deliberate efforts by terrorists to destroy, incapacitate or exploit them."

So, there we have it.

Tyco, originally registered in Massachusetts and floated on the New York Stock Exchange, is a vast multi-national corporation specialising in the infrastructure of electronics, telecommunications, networks, and, predictably, defence.

The company has an interesting and turbulent history. In the 1990s, for instance, Tyco engaged on a ferocious policy of acquisitions of other companies. Some reports claim that up to 1,000 companies were bought by Tyco during this frenzied decade.

British (or should that be Belizean) interest in Tyco surfaces in 1997 when Tyco was taken over (it was technicality a merger) by ADT, controlled at the time by none other than everyone’s favourite non-domicile, Lord Ashcroft. The company then transferred its place of incorporation to Bermuda.

The rash of acquisitions came to haunt Tyco when it was embroiled in a huge accounting scandal centred on its former CEO Dennis Kozlowski. Over 30 charges were brought against senior figures within the company.

Current CEO Tom Lynch joined Tyco in 2004, in the wake of the corruption scandal, becoming CEO in 2006. Mr Lynch currently serves on President Obama’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Board, from which he is presumably well placed to reflect on the extremely close relationship between America’s foreign military policy and the business opportunities for a company which sells the electronic infrastructure necessary to maintain a state of permanent war.

Total profits for Tyco Electronics (the parent company is now registered in Switzerland) for 2008 are $14.3 billion. As well as its undersea cables, Tyco is also a regular supplier of electronic equipment for military aircraft, missile defence, submarines and battle tanks.

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Chestnuts Roasting in an Open Microwave at Bristol's German Christmas Market

2010-11-30T10:05:00.009Z

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeThe Trymites' recent weekend treat was a tour of Bristol's German Christmas Market, conveniently located in the quieter end of Broadmead near Cabot Circus. You can't miss it - just look for the oversize garden sheds.

I was pleasantly surprised at the large number of authentic German-sounding accents being projected from behind the myriad seasonal shopping booths. Either there has been a lot of coaching taking place, or the stall holders do have some link, however, tenuous, with the land of lederhosen and gingerbread.

The presence of a few very obvious British students behind the stalls, plus the sight of a hijab-wearing Somali woman selling nativity scenes, merely added to the cultural charm of the event.

The Weihnachtsmarkt, to give the event its formal German title, also provided the opportunity for me to try German curry sausage, now made famous by the attempts of last week's would-be Apprentices to create crisps based on this flavour. Although I cannot comment on the crisps, I must confess that I found the sausage - smothered in red spicy sauce and with bread roll as optional extra - rather an enjoyable gastronomic experience. German curry for the win, as the young people say.

Long strands of licorice alongside glazed nuts, mulled wine (microwaved) and glowing wax objects, whose specific purpose was not entirely clear to me, combined to create a memorable and distinctive festive experience.

The Original German Christmas market runs in Broadmead until the 22nd of December.

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Canford Park - Cafe at Last?

2010-11-19T01:39:00.005Z

Word from the tennis courts is that coffee is now served at Canford Park - the first time such a radical development has taken place in the fifteen years I have been visiting Westbury's green space.

A temporary cafe has appeared in the building next to the tennis courts, serving hot and cold drinks and snacks and it is understood that negotiations are on-going to open the eatery on a permanent basis.

November may not appear the most obvious time to launch an open-air cafe, but I understand that the drinks are proving popular with parents forced to endure the cold while their children run amok on the playground equipment, or occasionally play tennis.

Opening hours are 11.00 am - 4.00 pm on weekends and "when dry and sunny" on weekdays.

Watch this space for further developments.

Artist's impression of cafe fare at Canford Park courtesy of bjearwicke.

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Roman Round Caerleon

2010-11-08T23:31:00.004Z

Image via WikipediaTook a trip over the weekend with Mrs Trym to the Roman Fortress at Caerleon. It's extensive, well preserved, fascinating and free - a benefit that more than offsets the £5.50 Severn Bridge toll and petrol to Newport.

The fortress - one of only three permanent legionary fortresses built in Britain - contains original walls, barracks which accommodated up to 5,000 men, the largest Roman amphitheater in northern Europe, as well as two indoor museums.

The modern village has grown up inside the boundaries of the Roman settlement and is picturesque in its own right, quite apart from the rich and ancient history all around it.

Two thoughts struck me as I was gazing intently on the amazing artifacts that have been discovered on the site and are now on display in the Legion Museum. One was how extensive and well made many of the items were. Simple earth bowls sit alongside copper oil lamps, delicate glass bottles, enamel broaches and iron medical instruments.

The second was the realisation that, until the industrial revolution, western societies did not really manufacture many items that were of a higher quality, or that performed more advanced functions than these ones that had been lying under the Welsh soil for the last 1,700 years. Here were hinges for storage and jewelery boxes, hair combs, spears, large storage jars for importing foodstuffs, delicate rings, decorated copper ware and iron keys and padlocks. In other words, all the paraphernalia for a population to enjoy a civilized and decent standard of living before the invention of steam or coal powered machines.

Our own age, by contrast - media rich, resource hungry, fast-paced, energy dependent - is an historic anomaly.

Just saying.

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An Intelligent Discussion About England

2010-11-04T09:47:00.005Z

Image via Wikipedia

With the rise if the English Defence League and other English nationalist movements, those interested in issues of identity, Englishness and the politics of devolution are often reluctant to enter the debate for fear of being associated with these right wing groups, both their ideology and methods.

It was a welcome relief, therefore, to discover this article, reproduced under a Creative Commons Licence from Open Democracy. The Bristol angle is noted in the list of participants.

"Debates about the status of England and surrounding constitution and parliament have gradually gained momentum after 1997 but were (and are) linked to a critical understanding of the way that the union of the United Kingdom functions, or fails to function, as a nation-state. As well as attracting bemusement in recent years, the ‘English Problem’ has been over-shadowed, at least in the mainstream media, by conservative and pro-British assumptions about a narrow, nostalgic and fundamentally ‘ethnic’ England, and has been emptied of all political content.

This Saturday, 6th November, the University of Warwick are hosting a one day interdisciplinary conference entitled ‘Literature of an Independent England’, organized by Dr Michael Gardiner and Dr Claire Westall and supported by Warwick’s Department of English and Comparative Literary Studies and Humanities Research Council.

The conference will draw together academics, writers and commentators working within this burgeoning area to clarify the current position and future potentiality of England as an independent nation and as a nation with an independent literature which as yet has no agreed shape. It will draw on Britain’s imperial history and the postcolonial and nationalist concerns which have sought to address this legacy. It will specifically look at how patterns of cultural, political and literary thought have changed after the ideological fall of the United Kingdom, as well as addressing questions about the form, purpose and future of the British discipline known as English Literature. The conference aims to ask, most importantly, how cultural, literary, and academic producers can become active in shaping the values of a post-British England.

The Keynote Address will be provided by Professor Arthur Aughey (University of Ulster), authors of The Politics of Englishness (MUP, 2007) who will be speaking under the title ‘Citizens of Nowhere? Reflections on a very English Anxiety’. Anthony Barnett will be outlining the need to ‘Take England Back’ and Dr Michael Gardiner will be explicitly linking these political questions to the discipline of English Literature in his paper ‘English Literature as Ideology’. Issues of canonicity within and beyond literature will be explored by Dr Jo Carruthers (University of Bristol) and Dr Simon Featherstone (De Montfort University), author of Englishness (EUP, 2009), will be linking literary regionalism with questions of the nation. Dr Christine Berberich (University of Portsmouth) will be examining the ‘problem’ of England in recent dystopian novels while Dr James Hawes will be reading from his novel Speak for England (2005).

Other speakers and papers will add to the vibrant, interdisciplinary coverage of the day helping to ensure that the political nuances of England’s current political landscape are tired to, and read through, the history of England as a nation typically conflated with the imperially determined state structure of Britain. Key topics for the day include:

The Politics of England and Englishness
Nation Theory
Literary History
Canonicity and the Disciplinarity of English Literature,
Empire and Postcolonialism
England after Devolution

For more information on the programme, speakers and papers please see the conference website."

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Questions for the West of England Partnership

2010-10-31T21:20:00.006Z

Image via Wikipedia

I have some concerns about the new West of England Partnership, which will come into being next year, replacing the Regional Development Agency, which has been axed. Here's an initial observation and question. More questions in the future, perhaps::

Why is the Partnership's 2026 vision statement so focused on supporting the employer-employee model of job creation? Consider its opening statement, which describes the greater Bristol area in 16 years' time as:

"One of Europe’s fastest growing and most prosperous sub regions which has
closed the gap between disadvantaged and other communities – driven by
major developments in employment and government backed infrastructure
improvements in South Bristol and North Somerset."

Apparently, the author(s) believe that by (a) improving roads, trains and the airport, and by (b) "major improvements" in employment, the social and economic gap between rich and poor in Bristol will reduce.

That is an astonishing claim. It rests on an employer-centered model of economic development, seeing the presence of companies that pay wages to employees (along with good transport systems) as a major contributor to economic equality.

History, however, tells a rather different story. In a globalised economy, four things things tend to happen to successful companies.

Firstly, they are floated on the stock market, becoming essentially focused on generating profits for share holders, however that can be legally achieved;
Secondly, the wage levels between the senior managers and the lowest-paid workers tend to increase;
Thirdly, they tend to get taken over by larger competitors;
Fourthly, they tend to outsource their production to countries with cheaper labour markets

This is exactly what happened, of course, to the Cadbury's chocolate factory at Keynsham, where as I write, the last of the 500 workers to lose their jobs will be facing unemployment as production is moved by new American owners Kraft to Poland and elsewhere.

This job-cutting announcement, it should not be forgotten, was made one week after the takeover by Kraft and following assurances that the factory would be kept open.

Clearly, the interests of global firms, who increasingly operate alongside or beyond the effective control of national governments (witness the large number of "British" companies that are registered in Switzerland, to avoid business tax in the UK) are not the same as the interests of individual workers from Bristol whose livelihoods can be taken away at a moment by executive boards meeting in New York, Shanghai or Dubai.

It's worth noting as well that the improved transport infrastructure that the West of England Partnership advocates is, indeed, a core element in successful business - though not in the way that I suspect the Partners envisage. Kevin Carson argues (convincingly, in my view) that the costs of major transport and communication infrastructure that facilitated the creation of a national market for goods in the nineteenth century were paid for by taxpayers but disproportionately benefited corporations. Although I haven't seen any raw data for the C21, I assume that similar forces are at work in the formation of global markets.

Of course, the gap between rich and poor certainly needs closing - it has widened significantly in Britain over the last thirty years. There is an alternative way of working towards this aim, however, which does not place us at the mercy of global corporations. The Distributist economic model argues for a settlement in which the vast majority of individuals own their own means of production, either as self-employed small businesses, or as members of worker-owned cooperatives. As one report noted on the subject:

"Employee-owned firms have outperformed the FTSE-All Share Index over the last 18 years by an average of 10%.

When shares are distributed to all employees we see a minimum 5%c productivity gain and often more, according to research."

There's no inherent reason why such an economic model could or should not be implemented at the heart of sustainable development of the Bristol region. All that needs to happen is for the rules to change. I've written previously about Distributism here.

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A Tale of One City and Two Demos

2010-10-31T20:19:00.006Z

Image by sea turtle via Flickr

Arriving in central Brighton yesterday, on family business, I was greeted by the sight of several hundred protesters demonstrating against the government's planned cuts to public services. Organisers claim about 900 took part in the march, and judging from the banners visible from my vantage point, the crowd included a mix of trade unions, labour party members, socialist workers, public sector workers and a small contingent of anarchists.

On my departure - about four hours later - I witnessed another march on exactly the same road. This time, Queens' Road was overrun by at least as many people as the lunchtime demo, for the annual Brighton Zombie March. With about 2,000 people signed up on facebook, the march was a riot of white face make up, fake blood and theatrical gore. At least one rubber severed limb was flung in the direction I was facing by an enthusiastic zombie.

Apart from the obvious opportunity for some witty puns around the theme of "cuts", the presence of the two marches so close together left me with a couple of initial impressions:

the traditional political parties have not for some time engaged significant numbers of the under-25s, whose political activity is more likely to be around multiple single issues (if that makes sense) than through association with mainstream parties.

2010 will be looked back on as the year in which Halloween went mainstream in the UK. Although some may see this as symbolic in a rise in pagan consciousness, my own view is that upturn owes more to targeted and systematic attempts by businesses to make money. Halloween has always been much bigger in the US than here, until now, when yet another aspect of British life has been successfully Americanized (or should that be -ised?)

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2010-10-29T21:00:00.001+01:00

OK, let's see how we get on using Ping to update a few of my sites.

From LA to Bristol?

2010-10-29T01:40:00.002+01:00

A couple of weeks ago, seven miles of streets in the city of Los Angeles were closed for the day.

About 100,000 people took over the streets on non-motorised vehicles.

Could we do it here?

CicLAvia, Let’s Go! from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

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Multi-Generation Living

2010-10-18T19:35:00.004+01:00

Discovering that a nearly-retired couple I know in Westbury have built an extension to their home, have moved into the annexe, and have handed the original property over to their daughter, I was interested in this article from the Relationships Foundation which highlights multi-generation living as a growing trend in the UK. Findings include:

half a million properties are currently inhabited by multi-generation households (three or more generations)
the number is increasing due to the housing slowdown, falling pensions, rising childcare costs and increased life expectancy
Singapore and Hong Kong provide financial incentives to encourage such schemes, due to their efficiency in reducing social care costs
There are calls to make the practice attractive in Britain through tax breaks for such households and relaxed planning laws
Pensioners now outnumber children in the UK for the first time

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Oasis School Westbury Open Evening

2010-10-18T07:33:00.005+01:00

Image via Wikipedia

Went to the Open Evening at Westbury on Trym's new Oasis School last week and was left with the overall impression that Steve Chalke and his team have their work cut out in order to turn this formerly bankrupt Catholic Independent into a flourishing and broad-based community academy.

Greeted at the door as I was by the head - Lynette Carter - who introduced herself by name, I felt immediately immersed in the ethos of a fee-paying independent school. Which, of course, the school still is, until it achieves academy status. Tours of the school were conducted by the uniformed pupils, and everyone was, well, awfully nice.

I was struck, secondly, by how small the school is - both in terms of student numbers - and teaching facilities. More familiar with the large state secondary sector, I was surprised to discover, for instance, only two functioning science labs, one DT room, and a close overlap between the secondary and primary wings of the school.

In addition, the physical fabric of the school has obviously been neglected during the St Ursula's era. The exterior, for instance, reminded me of one of those small French provincial towns that you stumble upon while on holiday: grey rendering peeling away from nineteenth-century brickwork, which seems to have a certain charm when on holiday but, when thinking about your child's secondary, speaks of decline.

I was also surprised by the presence of numerous statues of Mary, and other Roman Catholic paraphernalia around the site, not because they would be out of place in a Catholic school, but because they have been left in place after the school has been taken over by Oasis Community Learning. Although Oasis states in its education charter that "We are motivated by the life, message and example of Jesus Christ", they are not, specifically, a Roman Catholic charity (Steve Chalke is a former Baptist minister) and their academies are "non-selective...open to students of all religious faiths and those of no faith."

It's easier to change a building than it is to change the ethos of those who use the building, of course, and there did seem to be among the existing parents I talked with in the school hall, a hope that the new school (which, interestingly they talked about as a future rather than present institution, despite the change of name) would not abandon its distinctive features. As an independent, St Ursula's was known for being non-selective and welcoming pupils with a range of learning needs, and others who may not have fared that well in a larger school.

Perhaps the Mary statues symbolise exactly where Oasis Westbury is at the moment: in transition, but not very far into the process. Which is not surprising, since the school has been through a roller-coaster of change in 2010. This journey has included the former school going into administration, the City Council buying the land to enable Oasis to re-open as a fee-paying school this academic year, a further drop-off in student numbers, a 25% increase in fees, and the small matter of a general election in which the school featured prominently at a local level.

Steve Chalke is in Bristol this week to update existing parents on the journey towards becoming a state-funded academy. He states that he has been in recent contact with Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education, who is "committed" to helping Oasis Westbury Academy status "on, or before, September 2011" and that he is "confident" that this will happen.

Assuming that takes place, there seems plenty of work to do in turning the school into a broad-based community academy. I expect a few feathers will have to ruffled in the process and some difficult decisions will have to be taken by skillful leaders and change managers.

If anyone can pull this off successfully, I reckon Oasis can.

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Severn Barage Scrapped

2010-10-17T15:26:00.004+01:00

Image via Wikipedia

So, the controversial Severn Barrage, which would have supplied nearly 5% of the country's electricity, is to be scrapped, according to a report today via the BBC new site.

Secretary of State for Energy Chris Huhne may well see upgrades to the is believed to have decided to cancel the project because of its high construction cost - around £20 billion - and will instead signal that nuclear power will receive more support in attempts to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Locally, thisOldbury and Sizewell B nuclear power stations in the coming years.

The planned barrage would have linked Brean Down near Weston Super Mare with Lavernock Point near Cardiff, using tidal range technology. As previously reported on Trym Tales, this approach involves creating a barrier which is effectively a hydroelectric dam. The incoming tide is allowed to pass through the barrier and then held back behind it as the tide recedes. At or around low tide, the waters behind the barrage are released in a controlled way and passed through a series of turbines, generating electricity.

The proposed Barrage was one of ten initial proposals for generating tidal energy from the River Severn - later reduced to five. The tidal range in the Severn is approximately 14 metres, making the estuary one of the prime candidates on the planet for the large-scale introduction of this form of renewable technology. Studies into the feasibility of tidal energy technologies have also been carried out around Orkney.

The loss of upstream habitat on the Severn was one of the reasons that the planned barrage was opposed by some local environmentalists. Northavon MP Steve Webb was one of a number of local MP's and Welsh Assembly members who were opposed to the Barrage, advocating instead a smaller barrage close to the Severn Bridge Crossing.

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Bristol's Rubbish

2010-10-05T09:39:00.003+01:00

Image via Wikipedia

Glad to see that the Council are installing on-street recycling bins this month in the centre of town.

The new bins will accept cans and newspapers - two of the main items currently thrown away by pedestrians in the city.

The Council have announced that the new bins (which will also contain sections for non-recyclable waste) will be located at Park Street, Whiteladies Road, College Green, Baldwin Street, Welsh Back and Stokes Croft. The new bins, sponsored rather appropriately by Metro newspapers, will supplement those already in place in Broadmead and East Street, Bedminster.

Local IT social entrepreneur Steve Woods, meanwhile, has given a grudging welcome to the development via his Twitter profile: "Bristol City Council: you're at least 30 years behind German cities with on-street recycling facilities."

What, and they keep beating us at football?

Life's not fair.

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Council Plans to Reduce Carbon Footprint by 20%

2010-10-02T19:10:00.003+01:00

Image via Wikipedia

This from Councillor Neil Harrison on the City Council's plans to move forward with energy reduction and the increased use of renewables.

Highlights of the project include:

10 new biomass boilers in schools and leisure centres
80 solar photo-voltaic installations at schools
replacing 34,000 street lights with low energy units
two new wind turbines at Avonmouth
a major investment in new parking spaces for use by the city's two car clubs

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Here Comes the Sun (flower)

2010-09-18T18:36:00.002+01:00

Image via Wikipedia

Is it my imagination, or are there more sunflowers in Bristol this year than has been the case in the recent past?

As well as the lofty specimens growing in my corner of Westbury onTrym, I have also noticed an impressive crop on Raglan Road in Bishopston. Meanwhile the neighbourly competition to grow the tallest sunflowers in the street is a subject of lively debate on Redland's Lansdown Road site.

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Charlotte Leslie Backs Continued Afghan War

2010-09-17T23:32:00.003+01:00

Image via Wikipedia

I was interested, though not particularly surprised, to notice that our local MP, voted this week to support the UK's ongoing war in Afghanistan.

The motion,

"That this House supports the continued deployment of UK armed forces in Afghanistan"

represented this Parliament's first opportunity to debate the war since the general election.

It is unfortunate that support for the British troops who are putting their lives on the line every day in Afghanistan tends, under the terms of the current debate, to be only expressed by calling for them to stay and fight.

My own view is that they would be even better supported by being withdrawn from a conflict that is ill-conceived and un-winnable.

Speaking from an American perspective, I notice that a former member of the US national Security Council apparently agrees with this view.

The motion was carried by 310 votes to 14.

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So Much to Do....

2010-09-10T18:03:00.008+01:00

Image via Wikipedia

Well, what a weekend, and how on earth are the good citizens of Westbury on Trym going to fit in the plethora of cultural events taking place across the city over the coming 48 hours?

For a start, there's the Bristol Doors Open Day, an annual chance to see the interior of some of the city's oldest and most interesting buildings.

My highlights from last year were the Redcliffe caves and the Roman villa at Lawrence Weston. Selective planning ahead, I discovered, is crucial to making the most of the day as it is impossible to do even a quarter of the fifty-plus historic venues in one day.

Locally, Elsie Briggs House is open , as is The Concrete House on the Ridgeway, a fine example of "classic modernism", if that's not too much of a contradiction in terms.

Other properties worth a visit, in my opinion, include the Pierian Centre in Portland Square - any house with an indoor well always gets my vote - and John Wesley's Chapel in Broadmead. The study and living quarters upstairs are a particular gem, all maintained in their original C18 style.

Retro-fitted onto the Open Doors Day is Bristol's first Green Doors weekend - a series of open homes where residents will be "showcasing ways they have made their homes more comfortable to live in, more energy efficient and cheaper to run." Sustainable Westbury is a bit less coy about the event's eco-agenda: the homes, according to SusWoT, have been adapted to "reduce energy and adopt low carbon living."

So, if you've always wanted to see a straw bale wall or find out how to build with discarded tyres, or if you have questions about how practical solar panels are in the suburbs, this is the event for you.

Westbury on Trym has several featured properties, including one very close to where I'm typing.

For those wishing to push the boat out a bit further, expand the envelope, think outside the box and entertain a significant paradigm shift in their political worldview, the Bristol Anarchist Bookfair could be just the thing. With sessions on GM Crops and Biofuels, Men Confronting Patriarchy, and Censorship and Free Speech, the event looks like the biggest yet. For the uninitiated, the session on What is Anarchism? looks handy. The best short summary I have read in answer to that question, from a market anarchist perspective, is found here. The event takes place from 10.30 to 6.00 at Hamilton House on Stokes Croft.

The Organic Food Festival, meanwhile, is taking place at the Harbourside (I know, that's come round quickly). Although I've never really recovered from the shock of having to pay for admission (it's £5 this year), the numerous free samples are universally delicious. A food celebrity of some fame, apparently, will be taking part. Go and buy.

Finally... Bristol's first community organised bike festival launches on Saturday with the start of the Bristol to Amsterdam charity bike ride, beginning at 10.00 from the Clifton Suspension Bridge. Should be all downhill from there.

Inevitably, the event has some support from the over-hyped and, in my opinion, ultimately disappointing Cycling City initiative, but let's not let that spoil the fun. There are over 100 cycle-themed events running over the two-week event.

A quick look to the top right of this blog will reveal a new poll. Vote now to reveal which event(s) you intend to visit this weekend.

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Growing Local Food in Westbury and Henleaze

2010-09-01T00:24:00.003+01:00

Image via Wikipedia Know any land suitable for growing food on in the area?

The Council's Land Use Consultation comes to BS9 this month with an open event at Trinity Henleaze United Reform Church, Bradbury Hall on 20th September. Members of the public with an interest in seeing more land released for local food production are invited to drop in any time between 12.00 noon and 8.00 pm.

An identical event for Henbury & Southmead will run on September 27th at the Greenway Centre, Doncaster Road, Southmead.

Information and opinions gleaned during this city-wide consultation will, apparently, help to inform decisions on land use in the city for the coming decades.

Here's my off-the-top-of-my head list of possible food growing sites in the area:

the Dairy Garden at Blaise Castle Estate
part of the Arnall Drive Open Space at Henbury
a corner of the field at Henbury School
the front garden at Elmlea Junior School and the back garden at the Infants' School
the grounds of the former Elmfield School on Greystoke Avenue
the hidden valley between Channell's Hill and Bowness Gardens (might be a bit steep?)
the small plot adjacent to the Westbury on Trym surgery
a slice of the Coombe Dingle Sports Centre field

Where have I missed?

For an introduction to the rationale of growing and consuming locally produced food, there's a short introductory article here.

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Cardiff Catastrophe

2010-08-26T09:39:00.005+01:00

Continuing an unplanned mini-series (well two, so far) of media headline bloopers, Wales Online Editorial staff will be ruing the day they let this headline go live on its news site.

Good spot by Tim Montgomerie.

Another fine example sourced by Trym Tales can be found here.

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A Late Summer Night's Dream

2010-08-25T09:18:00.007+01:00

Image via WikipediaSabbath last, as Mrs Trym and I were taking our weekly constitutional through Blaise Castle Estate, I was struck by the presence of several hand written posters attached to successive trees near the Henbury Road entrance:

Missing: African Grey Parrot. Answers to name of FRANK. Tel. 0117....

"Won't last long here," I mumbled to no-one in particular, while peering hopefully into the August gloom in search of the missing bird.

Imagine my surprise, therefore, when a few days later, I found myself at the market at Southmead Hospital, having been tasked with the purchase of cheap minced beef and ripe satsumas, standing next to one of the market's pet supply stalls. Beyond the rows of dog collars and biscuits, I was struck to discover a live caged bird hoping about its small enclosure.

Despite the numerous breaches in health and safety legislation represented by the sale of this feathered fowl, my primary concern was over the content of the angst-filled poster at Blaise Castle. Putting two and two together, the question hit me with the force of a train: Is this Frank?

Initial appearances could easily have lead me to a different conclusion. The bright yellow colour of the bird before me was, of course in stark contrast to the natural hue of the appropriately-named African Grey. Bird bleaching being a surprisingly widespread (though little-reported) practice, I determined to see beyond the superficial and investigate further.

Under pretence of inspecting the rubber chewing toys, I slid innocuously towards the hanging cage and, while idly fumbling a puppy tug and ball, calmly let out a growl: "Frank!" Despite a flicker of recognition from the peroxide prisoner, I knew I did not yet have enough evidence to affect a citizen's arrest of the heavily tattooed stall holder, whose scrapped-back hair and multiple items of gold jewelery were offset by her black leather waistcoat. Her rippling muscles suggested, moreover, that she might not wait quietly for the arrival of the constabulary.

Undeterred, I continued my idle inspection of rabbit harnesses and, semi-smothered by one of my chronic (though at times useful) nervous coughs, I again uttered the name of the missing African, while running my hand nonchalantly through my hair.

A stare from the adjacent Palestinian stall holder drew unwarranted attention, so I eased my position slightly to enable me to fumble with a set of jump leads set out on his motor accessory stall.

While glancing at the rows of double A batteries to my left, I was suddenly alerted to a squawking sound from the cage behind me. Turning slightly, I was shocked to see the yellow bird pecking the bars of its cage while intoning: "An-drew! An-drew!"

A brief image of Leonardo Di Caprio flashed through my mind as I awoke at home. a reminder of that evening's visit to Orpheus to see Inception. The feeling that someone had been messing with my head was not a pleasant one to wake up to.

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Tales of the Riverbank

2010-08-25T00:51:00.004+01:00

Plans are underway to enlarge the footpath along the River Trym, as it flows from Falcondale Road to the corner of Merlin Close.

The proposed work - on the opposite side of the stream from the Falcondale Road allotments - will result in the path itself being closed to pedestrians for a period of up to six months.

The finished work should leave the riverbank with a wider path, similar to that currently in place at its junction with Merlin Close.

Two questions occur as this work is undertaken:

Will the naturalness of that stretch of the Trym be compromised with the addition of concrete and tarmac?
Will the river itself be narrowed in the process?

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Out and About in Bristol

2010-08-21T15:08:00.005+01:00

Traveling into and back out of the city (not once, but twice) today, the following sites caught my attention:

an Orthodox Jewish man walking north on Clifton Triangle. Wearing a tallit, and it being a Saturday, I assumed he was on his way back from the synagogue on Park Row, home of the Bristol Hebrew Congregation. On my return from town (about 40 minutes later) I noticed that he had reached White Tree Roundabout. Driving on the Sabbath, except in a life-threatening emergency, is generally avoided by the majority of Orthodox Jews.

the Whiteladies Road Farmers' Market, which seemed busier than I have seen it for some time, and which has now expanded to the east side of Whiteladies Road, with several stalls now in front of Barclays Bank. I also noticed some live music at the market, in the form of an acoustic guitar and accordion duo.

a protest further down Whiteladies Road by the Bristol Palestine Solidarity Campaign against alleged bias by the BBC in its Death on the Med programme broadcast last Monday. I assume the Jewish gentleman (above) walked past this demo, which had around 20 participants with banners and placards.

A black-lead gospel music event on College Green. No Greater Love appears to be a grass roots event, organised by a small team of local Christians. The music was cool, but the crowds were small.

The Bristol Bike Show, organised by the local Motorcycle Action Group, had closed off the streets around St Nicholas' Market this afternoon for a get together, with live music and plenty of, well, motorbikes. Westbury on Trym residents may notice that the event's After-Show-Party takes place at 6.00 today at the Saracens Rugby Football Club at Cribbs Causeway, just up the road. Should make for a quiet end to the afternoon.

All in all, a good vibe and a nice cross-section of city life.

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Still Telling Tales

2010-07-16T21:16:00.006+01:00

Oh my days!

Has it really been six weeks since the last posting from everybody's favourite Westbury-on-Trym blog? Six weeks!

Historically, July and August have always been quiet times for Trym Tales. Since this is also the silly season in traditional print-based media, I take comfort from this similarity - evidence that BS9's leading independent online media outlet is truly rolling with the big boys.

Having said that, I was shocked, horrified and amused at one recent faux pas from a leading media competitor. I refer, of course, to a recent edition of the mid-Bedfordshire Times and Citizen.

As the picture reveals, June 3rd was clearly not the sub-editor's finest day, professionally speaking.

Closer to home, recent low output from Trym Tales cannot be explained away simply by lack of local news.

Post-election, we have had Charlotte Leslie's maiden speech in the House of Commons, the on-off story of St Ursula's transition to an academy (exit Merchant Venturers, enter Oasis Education Trust, with a possible transition date of September 2011) and the strange tale of the council's decision to dig up the magnificent playing field at Elmlea Infants School so that they can move the school building 100 metres north. As if that were not enough, Southdown and Hillsdon Road have had their long-awaited street party on the day England began their short-lived world cup campaign.

All of which augers well for a resurgence of local news and views from the newly resurrected Trym Tales for all loyal readers. I thank both of you for your patience.

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Will Primary Academies Change Bristol's Schools for a Generation?

2010-05-25T23:51:00.013+01:00

The government's desire to allow primary schools to become academies, and its desire to increase their number, may have significant implications for the provision of primary education in Bristol.

Under the coalition's proposals - outlined in this week's Queen's Speech - primary schools which have been rated "outstanding" by Ofsted will be assumed to be ready to become academies, without having to go through the current lengthy application process.

It is worth pausing to consider what Bristol schools might look like if all or many of its primary schools currently rated "outstanding" chose to go this route. In such a world, the following primaries would be eligible to become academies (independent of local authority control) straight away - possibly as soon as September 2010. These schools would be free from the requirements of the national curriculum and able to set their own non-selective admissions and staffing policies.

In each case, the link from the individual school is to it most recent Ofsted report:

St Peter and St Paul RC Primary, Redland

St John's C of E Primary, Clifton

Christ Church Primary, Clifton

Henleaze Junior School

Ashley Down Junior School

Elmlea Junior School, Westbury on Trym

Westbury on Trym C of E Primary

Stoke Bishop C of E Primary

Our Lady of the Rosary RC Primary, Lawrence Weston

Several points seem relevent:

1. The geographical concentration of possible primary academies

Although it could be argued that the varying standards of primary schools in Bristol are already a matter of public record - with schools in the north and west of the city tending to be rated more highly that those in the centre, south and east - the emergence of multiple academies would be a powerful and visual symbol of this educational imbalance.

Existing primary schools, if oversubscribed, already apply a geographical element when allocating places, according to the City Council's admissions policy document. This fact tends to lead to the creation of local property hot spots as parents move into parts of the city where they are more likely to be allocated a place at the school of their choice.

It is unclear whether such hypothetical future primary academies would operate geographical admissions policies. The evidence form Bristol's existing secondary academies is mixed. While City Academy in Whitehall and Oasis Academy in Hengrove do have a local geographical bias in their application process, Colton's Girls' and Cathedral School do not.

2. The high incidence of church schools in the list

It is a nationally-recognised fact that Britain's highest performing schools at both primary and secondary level contain significant numbers of church schools. This provides a range of challenges and opportunities.

On the one hand, secular members of the middle classes often express dismay when they find such schools operating a faith-based admission policy. Attempts to minimise the overt Christian influence on such schools seems perverse, as if the character of such schools can be detached from its spiritual ethos and worldview.

Having said that, it is perfectly understandable that tax paying families may feel disenfranchised by a system that denies their child access to high performing schools because they are not church attenders - a situation that is currently true for several of the voluntary aided schools on the list.

3. The inevitability of a downgraded LEA

If (and of course it's a big if) a number of "outstanding" primaries became academies, controlling their own budget, curriculum and staffing policies, the LEA would be left with, well, to be frank, the less-than-outstanding schools. Some may see this as a good thing. It would certainly make it easier to justify job cuts within the council's education department as its remit was significantly reduced.

However, such a development would also have major implications for the nature of the state education system. I wonder, for instance, how we would feel if this approach were applied to doctor's surgeries or old people's homes. It's one thing for individuals to "go private" with their medical or retirement needs. It's another to have two types of public service offering the same thing (primary schools) but paid for from different pots and serving, in practice, two different groups of the public - broadly speaking , the haves and the have nots.

The academy model was originally designed by the Blair government to help lift "bog standard comprehensives" out of the doldrums by enabling them to be rebuilt and form dynamic partnerships with motivated and resourceful private and charitable bodies with an interest in education. Bristol's City Academy in Whitehall (supported by Bristol City FC) is a classic example of this approach.

In the brave new world of multiple primary academies, there is every possibility of significant fracturing of the provision of education and the reinforcement of social and educational inequalities across the city.

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Here Comes the Sun

2010-05-21T16:21:00.003+01:00

Today is the first day of the year when I have felt hot, as opposed to pleasantly warm.

Not surprising, since today's temperature in Bristol reached 25C, (77 in old/American money) - higher than Athens, Rome or Tunis.

With the Westbury Farmers Market tomorrow, the Stokes Croft Free Festival (or whatever it's called) and the prospect of a day on the beach, the weekend appears to be shaping up quite nicely. Dare say I may even get round to reducing the height of the waist-high weeds that pass for grass in the garden.

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St Ursula's to Become Boy's Academy by 2011?

2010-05-10T22:46:00.005+01:00

In the aftermath of the general election campaign, during which Charlotte Leslie (MP) announced that St Ursula's School in Westbury on Trym was to begin the process of applying to become an academy, Trym Tales can reveal that plans are at an advanced stage for the independent Catholic School to formally seek academy status from September 2011.

Trym Tales understands that the Merchant Venturers have created a financial and educational plan which, if agreed, would see St Ursala's become a boys-only secondary school, possibly within 16 months.

The proposal for a boys' school on the St Ursula's site would complement the Merchant Venturers other flagship school - Colston's Girls' - which they support as sponsors and which was one of Britain's first independent schools to become a state-funded academy in 2008. It is understood that a "super head" would be appointed over the two schools, under the proposal.

Trym Tales understands that, while the proposed new academy (which would lose its distinctive Catholic identity) would cater for school years 7 to 11 only, the Merchant Venturers would seek at the same time to open a joint sixth form centre which would serve both Colston's Girls' and the new "St Ursula's", resulting in the closure of the sixth form at the Cheltenham Road girls' school.

It is unclear where this sixth form centre would be based, but the implication is that it could make use of the extensive grounds at St Ursula's to create a new purpose-built post-16 centre, which would be co-educational.

St Ursula's has been forced to reduce its junior school provision from this September and to close its nursery following continuing decline in its pupil numbers. The school is understood to be expecting fewer than 200 students attending its Westbury on Trym site this autumn.

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Conservatives Win Westbury-on-Trym Council Election

2010-05-07T23:44:00.003+01:00

As well as securing the Bristol North West parliamentary seat in yesterday's general election, the Conservatives also held on to their seat in Westbury on Trym in the City Council election held on the same day.

City-wide, the Conservatives remain the third largest party on the Council after the LibDems consolidated their power base, gaining seats in Horfield and Kingsweston, while Labour gained new seats in Avonmouth and Brislington East.

The official result in Westbury on Trym was as follows:

Candidate	Party	Votes	%
Alastair Peter Lindsay Watson	Conservative	3124	46.69
Graham Christopher Donald	Liberal Democrat	2280	34.08
Claire Louise Cook	Labour	790	11.81
Alex Dunn	Green	407	6.08
Stephen Michael Wright	English Democrats	90	1.35

Turnout was a whopping 79.33%.

Source, Bristol City Council.

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Paul Harrod Comments on the Election Result

2010-05-07T11:26:00.001+01:00

Lib Dem candidate Paul Harrod has released the following statement after his defeat in yesterday's election in Bristol North West:

"I congratulate Charlotte on her clear victory. It is very well deserved. She has worked very hard, with great commitment, and she will rightly earn many plaudits for her outstanding success last night.

"I am very proud of the Liberal Democrat campaign - where we increased our share of the vote by 6.6%. It was a shame that we could not persuade more Labour voters that we were the clear challenger in this seat. However I can have no complaints, and any failures in our campaign is my responsibility, and my responsibility alone.

"I would like to thank all those people who voted for me, and all the hundreds of people who volunteered to help the Liberal Democrats in Bristol North West."

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Conservatives Win in Bristol North West

2010-05-07T05:28:00.003+01:00

The official election results for Bristol North West have just been announced.


Charlotte Leslie	Conservative	19,115
Paul Harrod	Liberal Democrat	15,841
Sam Townend	Labour	13,059
Robert Upton	UK Independence Party	1,175
Ray Carr	English Democrats	635
Alex Dunn	Green	511

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Voting in Bristol North West

2010-05-06T21:07:00.004+01:00

Just back from casting my very precious votes in the general and local elections.

This election seems to have captured the public imagination in a way I cannot remember since 1997.

Walking to the Library on Falcondale Road, our nearest polling station, it was obvious that turnout has been high, in Bristol at least. Reports of queues in polling stations in Bishopston have been circulating this afternoon and the banter from the rather tired-looking electoral staff at the Library was that numbers arriving to vote here in Westbury had been "very high". This was certainly the first time I have ever had to queue to vote.

This was also the first election in which my two daughters were able to take part and I felt strangely proud arriving at the polling station as a family. Between us, we gave our support to several of the major and one of the minor parties, which is all the information I intend to share about my personal vote this year, beyond saying that, to me, every vote is tactical.

There were other obvious first-time voters present when we arrived, and word from the college dining hall is that many 18-20 year olds in Bristol are very positive about taking part in this election and having their say in choosing the next government.

It's worth sparing a thought for the army of electoral staff and volunteers who make this great democratic event possible. Despite the odd murmur about fraudulent postal ballots, the reality is that British general elections are renowned for being fair and transparent. That great anti -democrat Josef Stalin once commented that elections are not decided by voters but by vote counters. It's something to be proud of that, unlike elections in some parts of the world, in Britain we are justly confident in the integrity of the rather unglamorous system of electoral administration that means our vote will be counted accurately and, therefore, will count.

Hung Parliament or not, we can also celebrate the fact that whatever the outcome of the election, as the votes are counted overnight, the losers will recognise the result and accept it. One of the factors that contributes to the strengthening of democratic institutions in younger nations around the world is the simple fact of the losing candidate accepting defeat at election time. Where this does not happen, instability rules, in the worst cases even precipitating armed conflict and civil war.

Call me an anorak (as I settle down with my nachos for the BBC's election special) but I actually love British general elections.

As for the result in Bristol North West? High turn outs and dry weather have historically been regarded by political scientists as beneficial to Labour, but it is less likely that leafy Westbury on Trym will reflect this trend. Anyway, what do I know? My predictions of last June's council elections were less than impressive.

What is more certain is, that since October 1974 (the year of the last hung Parliament) Bristol North West has always returned an MP belonging to the party that went on to form the winning government. The final word from the staff at the polling station was that , because of the high turnout, the counters of the Bristol North West votes (at the Bristol City football ground) would be up all night.

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Poll of Bristol North West - Vote Early

2010-04-28T11:05:00.002+01:00

Have just set up a poll (top right corner) inviting residents of Bristol North West to answer one simple question: who do they intend to vote for on May 6th?

Results of the poll, which will close on midnight on May 5th, will be compared (or contrasted) with the official election result.

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Hairstyles and Smiles as Leaflet Campaign Hots up in Bristol North West

2010-04-27T18:54:00.006+01:00

A rain forest of campaign leaflets have been falling through my letterbox this week, proving, in case we were in any doubt, that BS9 is indeed the key location in the UK that will decide this election.

If only I had had the presence of mind to save these leaflets from the beginning, I could have established myself at a later date as an expert in the field, created an online brand and monetized the experience through an in-depth blog, an e-book and a carefully targeted affiliate marketing campaign.

Who knows, I may have even made it onto Mastermind:

"You have two minutes on Electoral Campaign Leaflets from Bristol North West, 2010, starting ...now."

In the absence of such marketable knowledge, I am reduced to sharing with all nine subscribers of Westbury on Trym's leading independent online media outlet my two favourite leaflets from the recent crop.

Firstly, the ever-photogenic Charlotte Leslie demonstrates her commitment to supporting local hairdressers by modeling the mature buffon style so loved of Westbury on Trym's female voters.

Secondly, Sam Townend reveals that it's not all doom and gloom in politics and that there's plenty of room for a smiley face in Westminster.

Speaking of Labour, I was interested to spot my first Labour placard outside a house yesterday, located on Pen Park Road in Southmead.

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Westbury on Trym Goes Global

2010-04-22T20:56:00.002+01:00

Pensioner Grace (aged 84) puts Westbury on Trym on the map during the pary leaders' debate on Sky.

Go Grace!

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Official List of Candidates, Bristol North West

2010-04-22T00:07:00.003+01:00

Thanks to James Barlow for this link to the official list of candidates for the May 6th parliamentary election in Bristol North West.

Nominations are now officially closed.

Candidates for Bristol North West are:

Ray Carr - English Democrats -"Putting England First"

Alex DUNN - The Green Party

Paul HARROD - Liberal Democrat

Charlotte Ann LESLIE - The Conservative Party Candidate

Sam TOWNEND - The Labour Party Candidate

Robert UPTON - UK Independence Party (UKIP)

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Tesco Stokes Croft Protest

2010-03-16T18:54:00.004Z

Spent the morning in a professional capacity covering the attempted eviction of a group of squatters from the former Jesters Comedy Club on Cheltenham Road.

They are protesting about the building's planned development into a Tesco store.

You can read about what happened here, see a selection of photos I took here and see the entire set of over 100 images at the Redland People facebook page here.

On a related note, I am surprised that on the official press release by Avon and Somerset Constabulary announcing the eviction (here) the force find it necessary to assist Tescos in their PR campaign by quoting a Tesco spokesman uncritically in connection with the company's desire to open the controversial store.

The police press release included the following:

A Tesco Spokesperson said: "We're keen to invest in the area. Many local people we've spoken to tell us they are eager to see a Tesco Express at this site. Our store will create approximately 20 new jobs and provide shopping facilities for hundreds of local residents."

It's one thing for the police to enforce the decision of a court (which is part of their job); when they act as a mouthpiece for a huge company which is widely disliked and criticised by people from a range of social and economic backgrounds, it seems to me that the force has stepped over the wrong side of a line and manifested a poitical bias.

If in doubt, ask yourself when it was that you last heard a saw a police statement uncritically quoting Friends of the Earth.

Examples of law-abiding middle class people opposing Tescos can be found here and here.

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St Ursula's to Become an Academy?

2010-02-15T20:13:00.004Z

The governing body of St Ursula's School in Westbury on Trym has decided to begin the process of applying to become an academy - a state funded independent.

The news was announced this evening at a packed public meeting at Westbury Methodist Church Hall organised by Parents' Voice - a new pressure group petitioning for a new secondary school for north west Bristol.

The announcement was made by prospective Parliamentary candidate Charlotte Leslie, who has recently been appointed chair of the governors at St Ursula's and was described by Labour candidate Sam Townsend, who was also spoke at the meeting, as a "political coup."

LibDem candidate Paul Harrod, the third Parliamentary candidate to address the meeting, had previously told the 200+ parents present that his favoured option for parents seeking a new school was that one of the local independents should be persuaded to apply to become an academy and that "St Ursula's is the obvious one that might want to consider" such a move.

Charlotte Leslie's carefully chosen statement was that, "I can announce today that St Ursula's will be taking steps to apply for academy status."

The question-and-answer session that followed the speeches revealed that the path for the Roman Catholic independent school to become an academy is far from smooth and that "taking steps to apply" is a long way from a done deal.

Particular issues that will need resolving before St Ursula's could become an academy include:

does the city council agree that such a move would be desirable?
what would happen to St Ursula's Junior School?
who would be the sponsor to such a school?
would such an academy remain a faith school? What would this mean for local parents who do not want their children to attend a faith-based school?

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Born Again Bird?

2010-02-11T09:33:00.002Z

A fat pigeon has taken up residence in my microscopically small back garden.

Regular readers of Westbury on Trym's leading online, independent media outlet will be aware of the traumatic associations this development will have for me.

Lees informed readers may wish to find out here.

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Trym Tales

Fruit Trees for Sale

Co-op Car Park Happenings

Costa Coffee and the Law

Mary Portas and Westbury on Trym: Lessons to Learn or Red-Haired Herring?

The Night Before Christmas - Bristol Style

Nick Gibb Visits Bristol Free School

New Bookshop Opens

Undercover police in Bristol’s new Costa « Bristol Culture

A Hard Day at the Cafe for Westbury Costa Owner

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