The Bristol streets are alive with the sound of cyclists. Since the city was awarded the status of Cycling City in 2008, there has been a new and improved cycle infrastructure, increased amount of cycle training for adults and school children and a general shift of attitude towards this more sustainable form of transport, but is this enough to get new cyclists on the road? If 21% of car commuters’ time is spent stationary and 45,000 car trips of less than 5km to work are made each day in Bristol (Joint Local Transport Plan 2006-11) then surely it’s about time cycling became the main mode of transport for the city? For those uninitiated to cycling, there really is no better time to get yourself a bicycle and start peddling around the city streets and beyond. Changing your transport habits can be a big, daunting prospect though so here is a short guide for a few keys things to remember if you’re new to city cycling:

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SY’s Agony Aunt answers your questions…

1. All my mate’s are booking holidays but I can’t afford one! Any advice?
That’s a bit of shame. I’d take full advantage of a situation like this if I were you. When they’re away, break in to their house, drink their beer, eat their food and if you’re lucky you may even get a chance to shag the missus as well.

2. How do I get my missus to be a bit more adventurous in the sack?
Tell her you’ll take her washing and ironing duties away from her. They pretend to hate it, but they know that’s all their good for….and maybe the odd blowjob every now and then.
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“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end,” said Seneca, the stoic Roman philosopher, in the mid-1st century. In this new year of a new decade, can we begin the green society and bring to an end an age we can’t in any case maintain for much longer? This would mean putting the concept of sustainable development into action instead of just signing up to the concept, speaking warm words about it but carrying on essentially with business as usual!
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Since 2007, E4 drama Skins has captivated young audiences across the country. Best known for its steamy sex scenes, adolescent drinking and drug taking, is there any wonder it’s caused a bit of controversy over the last few years? But, with help from the lovable characters and storylines that have you waiting desperately for the next episode, it’s not surprising that the programme has done so well (the opening of the forth series brought E4 nearly one million viewers). With the new series that hit the small screens in January, bringing with it a new array of crazy characters, we look a little bit closer into the success and the impact Skins has had on Bristol, the city in which it’s filmed.

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Stokes Croft is changing. The arrival of Cabot Circus nearly three years ago had everyone fearing the worst and we grimly expected Bristol’s cultural quarter to become whitewashed with highstreet garbage while yuppy flats were squeezed into every square inch going but in actual fact, the biggest change we’ve seen in the area has been the creation and renovation of more independent cafés and pubs than you can shake an organic, Fair Trade carrot at! New venues have popped up like The Canteen and The Arts House, old venues have been transformed like Leftbank, The Social and The Bank, and now, alongside old favourites like The Pipe And Slippers, The Bristolian Café and The Croft, the community café to end all community cafés, Café Kino, has been given a facelift and a new home too.
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The Three Coqs Brasserie offers a rather unprepossessing face to the world. Situated above in Clifton Down shopping centre, and with a stairwell straight out of a swimming pool and gym, it certainly wouldn’t seem to be the place to go for well cooked bistro food and one of the most interesting wine lists in the city.

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Friday 11th February 2011 @ Crash Mansion, Bristol

Mothboy, the innovative London producer, is releasing his latest and perhaps final EP entitled Yeild this week. To celebrate, Drawn Recordings are throwing one almighty launch party at Crash Mansion on Friday 11th February; Deep, Dark And Destined For The Dancefloor. Mothboy’s most famous works have been released through German electronic imprint, Ad Noiseam, where he has unleashed three stunning albums and two 12” singles that have enabled him to carve out a unique place for himself in the world of bass heavy electronic music. Expect a heady night of DJs, live bands, visual projections, a live illustrations showcase and, of course, a performance by Mothboy himself.

www.myspace.com/simonmothboy

www.drawnrecordings.com

As the temperature drops, one of Bristol’s most predominant characters all head indoors, most likely inside the coffee shops of Clifton. Some are effortlessly stylish and some insist on sporting fashions but you can only label them “Cliftonites”. They are a year-round occurrence however, with a volume and dialect that is hard to ignore.  Identifying a Cliftonite is easy; by day they can be found in abundance shopping in Jack Wills and by night they are “raa-raa-ing”(a style of Cliftonite dancing) in the Lizard Lounge on the Clifton Triangle. Ugg boots are a must, preferably the short ones or folded down with tracksuit bottoms tucked in, a long sleeved “grandad” top with a hooded gillet to finish off the look. The genuine Cliftonite however would never be without her back brushed ‘Mason and Pearson’ hair, distinctive throat tickling scent of ‘Ellnett’ and a foundation a few shades deeper than natural painted all over the face, including the lips.
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Friday 27th January until Saturday 5th March 2011 @ Bristol Old Vic, Bristol

Faith Healer is a fantastically crafted piece of drama, one which explores the power of story telling and the Chinese Whispers effects it can have upon each individual. It is a collection of unreliable monologues from a very tragic and slightly secretive ‘love’ triangle. Frank Hardy the ‘Faith Healer’, Teddy his manager/best friend, and Grace, Frank’s beloved and estranged wife, each reflect upon that one drunken night inside a Ballebeg pub and the events leading up to it.

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Often there really is nothing better than meandering around the independent vintage shops and boutiques of Bristol. Whether emulating Mad Men’s early 60s Betty Draper, 80s Debbie Harry, or 90s Kate Moss, to purchase an original item from the era you are in love with is a thrill. What’s more it can take you from copycat to real McCoy, leaving you smugger than a contented ginger tom pummeling an inordinately fluffy sofa. This delicious pot of sardines just keeps growing too with new vintage boutiques popping up around Bristol all the time so now that garment of gorgeousness could quite easily be a mere whisker away! Enough of the kitty analogies, let’s pull back the dusty sheets and shine the bright lights on Bristol’s vintage boutique parade!

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