Skateboard Santa

I was rather bemused on Friday night when, driving through the centre of Bristol, I saw not one but two santa's careering along the pavement on skateboards.

In both cases, Father Christmas was holding a can of Stella Artois.

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Cabot Circus

While searching for a dictionary for one of my students yesterday, I found myself drawn unintentionally into Cabot Circus for the first time.

Following the pavement from the Horsefair, I was lead down a path into the belly of the beast, so to speak.

Taking in the brushed metal and pleasant wooden decor, I unsuccessfully cast my eye around for a bookstore. Thankfully, at the bottom of the slope, in the unnatural amphitheater at the heart (or rather, the small intestine, to keep the imagery consistent) of the £500 million development, was a smiley and, I felt sure, helpful greeter . All smiles, shiny face and luminous day-glo orange fleece.

Perfect (thought I), a helpful, smiley and shiny-faced greeter who will direct me straightaway to the numerous well-stocked bookstores in this architectural masterpiece. My earlier prejudices about the new development were melting away, much like the November mist that was dispersing as the pale sun peered through the gargantuan glass roof (equal in size to one and a half football pitches according to the official web site).

Imagine my surprise, therefore, when on asking the orange-clad one where I might find a bookstore I was told that there was no such shop in Cabot Circus. Dumbstruck, I sought confirmation from she of the shiny face that there was in fact no bookstore at all in Bristol's landmark structure, (ten years in the making and destined to place Bristol firmly on centre stage.) "No" was the reply, repeated through gritted teeth in that what-do-you-want-a-bookstore-here-for-you-old-git-don't-you-know-we've-got-Harvey-Nichols tone of voice.

Suddenly, the oversize reindeer statues seemed duller to me despite being festooned with white fairy lights. Had any of the shoppers stopped to look, they would have noticed a disconsolate old fart shuffling back uphill mumbling something to himself about reading, learning, values and the crassness of our popular culture.

I wasn't even cheered up by the statue of the giant Christmas tree baubles.

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More Impressions of Cabot Circus

For reasons too opaque to go into, I visited the Cabot Circus website again this afternoon.

Based on the tiny amount I know of how businesses and organisations do branding exercises, I will assume that the Cabot Circus team (aka the Bristol Alliance) got their marketing and design people together in one of the office buildings where the Alliance's two partners are based - Land Securities at 5 The Strand in central London and Hamerson based round the corner on Grosvenor Street - and had that "let's think creatively about who we are as a retail concept" discussion so beloved of marketing and communications people.

Assuming the people in these two teams know their stuff, and have an understanding of their target market (Susan from Southville, perhaps) I find the result both revealing and depressing.

The average customer who might be attracted to the new Cabot Circus is, judging by the images on the home page, aged 20-35, white, single or in a relationship. In addition to this, they are perennially unhappy (not a smile on the model's faces) and, it appears, attracted to androgyny.

At least a couple of reasons therefore why I won't be at the front of the queue on the grand opening on September 25th.

Go on. Take a look. You know you want to.

Hmm.

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Cabot Circus Impressions

Driving up Newfoundland Road this evening, I was struck by the outside of the nearly-completed Cabot Circus.

I found myself wondering how many European cities would consider undertaking the equivalent (to quote the official PR) of "Bristols [sic] largest and most important city centre regeneration programme since the post World War 2 reconstruction" by bolting together a conglomeration of huge concrete blocks at distressingly random angles.

I hope the inside will be more visually pleasing than the exterior.

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Bristol Cycling City

Thank goodness for the independent media.

Without such robust reporting and campaigning as that evidenced by Trym Tales (if clicking a mouse may be considered a political act) Bristolians might still be choking in their own traffic fumes.

Thankfully, the powers that be - including the Department for Transport, Sustrans and Bristol City Council - have clearly been reading this blog and have responded promptly to a post this February calling for a bike sharing scheme to be implemented in the city.

In fact, they have gone a stage further and designated Bristol as England's first cycling city, a move which will see over £20 million spent on bike-related infrastructure.

In happily wallowing in its own self-congratulation at this impressive result, Trym Tales would like to make clear that at no time did it call for either of the following related cycling initiatives to be implemented, both of which are apparently part of the grand scheme:

• Cycling buddies assigned to help novices
• Door-to-door, one-on-one advice in some areas
  

On the latter issue, I was somewhat perplexed to read that, according to the BBC, this advice will involve Council officials going "door to door in low income areas evangelizing about the benefits of cycling." I wonder why Lawrence Hill rather than Sneyd Park will be targeted in this way, the former having far fewer cars per head than the latter.

Political correctness not withstanding, the scheme is of course welcomed. At its best, it has the potential to effect a significant and positive shift in the Bristol traffic scene.

Since Trym Tales is clearly punching above its weight in this area, I will offer my additional contributions to the debate, safe in the knowledge that they will become public policy within months. The question is, what would cause a flabby, middle-aged suburbanite (not thinking of anyone in particular) to cycle more in Bristol? Two factors would be decisive:

Secure, monitored cycle lock up areas

I hate having stuff stolen. Having lost numerous children's bikes, scooters and a moped from my property over the years, I just hate being the victim of this kind of crime.

Bike repair shacks located throughout the network

It's no use telling me it's easy to learn - people have tried with me for decades. Fixing things, including repairing tires, is a life skill that has sadly passed me by. A shed where I can get my puncture fixed on demand at a reasonable price would make a difference between using or not using a bike.

Right, campaigning done. Back to the football.

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Was Andrew Ibrahim a Colston's Student?

There is a growing body of circumstantial evidence suggesting that Westbury-on-Trym resident Andrew Ibrahim, currently under arrest under the 2000 Terrorism Act, is a former student of Colston's School in Stapleton, Bristol.

Factors leading to this conclusion include:

1. The financial background. If, as the Telegraph reports, Andrew Ibrahim's father was a consultant pathologist at Frenchay Hospital, and resides in an £800,000 house in Frenchay Village, it is highly likely that his sons would have been sent to independent schools. The alternative for Frenchay residents would be Filton High School, Downend School or Sir Bernard Lovell School. Those familiar with these three local state schools will know that they do not tend to attract the children of hospital consultants - the latter, for instance, being described by a former teacher as populated by "working class kids whose families do not appear to hold education as a high value."

Indeed, the exclusive community of Frenchay, situated on the edge of the River Frome and with its own extensive common, has very few state educated children in it of secondary school age. The high probability is that Andrew Ibrahim was educated in one of Bristol's independent schools. This narrows the field realistically to three - Colston's, QEH and Bristol Grammar.

2. The geographical background. Frenchay is located on the north east corner of the Bristol conurbation, separated from the rest of the city by the M32 motorway. Children who live there and attend an independent school have great difficulty getting to QEH and Bristol Grammar School because of the city's huge traffic problems. A one-way car journey from Frenchay to Clifton (where the other two schools are located) takes over 45 minutes during the morning rush hour. For this reason, many Frenchay families choose Colston's School - a mere ten minutes from the Village. Many families in fact choose the school and then move to Frenchay because of its proximity to Colston's.

3. The Google factor. Trym Tales has received three visits in the last 24 hours from anonymous individuals who reached the site by googling "Andrew Ibrahim Colstons". These visitors were based in York, London and Bristol. Apparently there are individuals who are making the Colston's connection independently and are looking for evidence or confirmation.

4. The Telegraph. Since publishing this post on Sunday night, I have seen the latest Telegraph article, updated on Monday, which states that Ibrahim was a student at Colston's School and includes a quote from headmaster Peter Fraser, who has obviously had his weekend disturbed, confirming that the suspect did attend both the junior and senior schools. Well known ex-Colstonians include rugby player Olly Barkley and former test cricketer Chris Broad.

5. Trym Tales Readers. The comments below add weight to the Colston's link and are much appreciated. Thank you.


Three Footnotes:

1. Everything in this post points to circumstantial factors rather than hard evidence and should be interpreted as such.
   
2. Readers choosing to refer to this evidence elsewhere on the Internet are welcome to do so and are requested to include a link back to Trym Tales.
3. Nothing contained in this post should be interpreted as a criticism of Colston's School.
   

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Trym Tales TV - Local Video From North Bristol

Filton Road to the City Centre as seen by a visiting Spanish exchange student.

One trip in Bristol
Uploaded by BordeauxBristolBsAs

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The Mall Bristol - Thank Goodness for Clarity Over the Name

The Galleries - as we've all been used to calling the shopping centre in Broadmead for the last 10 years - is to change its name.

From April 1st (no, seriously) the three-story retail building will be officially renamed: its new name will be The Mall Bristol. Please remember this name and try not to confuse it with anything else.

This choice of name, say the building's owners (a company with the potentially confusing name of The Mall) had originally wanted to give the building a totally different name following its recent £11 million revamp. Predictably, the preferred name was...... The Mall - a name which must have taken hours of blue-sky, out-of-the-box thinking on the part of the company's marketing and branding team.

Having burned the midnight oil in coming up with this innovative name for a shopping centre, the company then decided to change it (says the Evening Post) after "shoppers said it could be confused with the regional shopping centre of the same name at Cribbs Causeway." Shoppers! What do they know about it?

Presumably, The Mall (the company) wished to help its customers avoid the following Saturday morning text conversations:

Tracey: whre r u?

Lisa: on d bus goin 2 d mll

Tracey: me 2 c u thr

Lisa: whre shll we mt?

Tracey: fontain

Lisa: aint no fntain at d mll

Tracey: yer is nxt 2 smiffs

Lisa: na, wrng mll im goin 2 mll in twn

Tracey: soz c u ltr


Confusion thus averted, the new building will now be clearly referred to by all Bristolians as The Mall Bristol.

Unless of course, shoppers start to abbreviate its name. I wonder what they might start shortening it to?

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Time for Bike Sharing in Bristol?

With the news that London is to implement a radical urban bike sharing scheme - involving 15,000 bikes and 1,000 bike stations - the question has now to be asked, Why not in Bristol?

With Bristol's long tradition of supporting green causes and its intolerable traffic problems, the city seems ideally placed to pioneer such a system in the coming years.

The London scheme is lifted from the Parisian free bicycle system, known as the Velib.

In London, the bicycles will be free for the first half-hour to people who preregister and agree to pay an automatic penalty of £100, deducted from their credit cards, if they fail to return the bikes. They will pay a fee of about £1 for each additional half-hour. The docking stations are located every 300 metres in the West End and the City. Users swipe a card and then key in a number to release the bicycle.

As previously reported on Trym Tales, Bristol is now home to a state of the art urban car share club.

Surely it's now time we took the next step and made bikes equally available. Anyone who made that happen would get my vote.

Or perhaps we like the current state of Bristol traffic?

La borne Vélib’ vous parle !
Video sent by mairiedeparis

Portishead Railway - Another Missed Opportunity

It's crazy.

If the freight train line from to Bristol to Portbury were extended to Portishead and a passenger station built in the town, two things would happen overnight.

First, a ton (not a very scientific term in this context, I know) of traffic would disappear from The Portbury Hundreds, the M5 and the A4 Portway as motorists ditched their cars for the 10-minute train ride to the City Centre and points in between.

Secondly, Portishead would become a property hot spot as a waterfront town with a strong sense of community suddenly became an even more desirable place to live.

The Department of Transport, say the BBC, are not planning to put money into the project, citing lack of anticipated demand.

Surely, if we are to tackle the current environmental crisis and stand any hope of turning back the terrible consequences of climate change, we cannot afford the luxury of not doing a project like this. Why not bull doze a road or two? That would create a demand.

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First Swing of the Hatchet

Despite living in Bristol for 10 years, I had never visited The Hatchet, Bristol's oldest pub.

That all changed last night when I was persuaded to down a pint of Pepsi at the ancient hostelry.

A work colleague who was also experiencing the inn for the first time, on surveying the large numbers of leather clad bikers and rockers present, and on being informed that the pub was apparently full of businessmen during daylight hours, remarked that he believed the clientèle were in fact the same people afternoon and evening. They merely went home to change in between visits.

"There are more accountants here than Satanists," he remarked.

The Witching Hour

Just got back from taking the kids to Waterstone's on Union Street to buy their copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows .

What a sight! I would estimate about 500 people were there. All ages - children through to grandparents.

The crowd was good humored and there was a real buzz of anticipation. Lots of fancy dress and a few bemused looks from the taxi drivers as they drove past.

I've seen queues on a Friday night in Bristol - outside the night clubs. I've never seen people queuing for a book. It was quite an event.