Friday 1st until Sunday 3rd and Thursday 7th until Sunday 10th October 2010 @ Bridewell Island, Bristol

And so as the last flaming tightrope is extinguished, the final remnants of thick make-up are removed, and the doorway to the crypts are closed and padlocked, Bristol finally waves goodbye to Carny-Ville, the Invisible Circus and Artspace Lifespace at Bridewell Island. It’s been a drawn-out and emotional farewell but now this is surely it. The arts initiative who tour the city inhabiting semi-derelict spaces, rejuvenating and managing them as active creation centres while throwing some of the best god damn parties Bristol has ever seen, even for them time is up.

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Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th September 2010 @ Cabot Circus, Bristol

It was all happening at Cabot Circus this weekend! After gracing the front rows at London Fashion Week, it was time to see what Bristol had to offer. How would it match up to the capital of fashion? Yes I’m talking about the Cabot Circus Fashion Weekender. To celebrate the second anniversary of Cabot Circus, the people of Bristol were treated to the ultimate fashion weekender hosted by everyone’s favourite naked TV presenter and style guru, Gok Wan.

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Friday 24th until Sunday 26th September 2010 @ The Amphitheatre, Bristol

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Bristol’s folk scene could currently be described as being in rude health. This city is blessed with a plethora of fantastic bands who all dress in tweed and flat-caps and sing heartfelt songs about devils stealing brides and the weather beating at their hearts through their big, bushy beards. A glance at the A-board outside Golden Lion, at The Folk House’s notice window or at the chalk board in the Old Duke will see them full of names like Sheelanagig, Babel, The Zen Hussies, Pepino, The Wraiths, Moscow Drug Club, Jane Taylor, Fromage en Feu and Yes Sir Boss, just some of the bands that have been pushing Bristol’s folk and gypsy loving envelope at gigs and festivals across the city for years. One name deeply involved in the scene and a firm crowd favourite that used to be a staple of these listings is Pete Roe.
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Arguably the best bit about the Arcade in Clifton Village is Otomí, the Mexican import shop responsible for Bristol’s recent influx of wrestling masks and Day Of The Dead art. Named after the Otomí Indians in Mexico whose paintings were the first items sold in the shop, this haven of Mexican culture is so much more than paper mâché skeletons and Frida Kahlo folk art. If all manner of fairly-traded Mexican art, tiles, mirrors, textiles, kitchenware, furniture and jewellery isn’t enough, there’s also the food…!

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The Red Shoes: Tuesday 14th until Saturday 25th September 2010 @ Bristol Old Vic, Bristol

As we partake in a coalistic society, one in which conservatives undermine the importance of arts and culture, it is amazing to hear that one theatre company are keeping the industry very much alive and in the age of a recession as well! Kneehigh Theatre Company are consistent in their high standard performances. They have built a reputation for themselves from scratch and as a collective, they have pushed the barriers and utilised their space to create raw and emotional, exiting and unpredictable theatre. Now they have done it once more by opening The Asylum, a 20 ton dome structure which seats up to 1000 bottoms. Located in a remote part of Cornwall surrounded by rolling hills, it really is the perfect way to celebrate Kneehigh Theatre and their 30 years of excellence - and not just because it is the largest span in Europe without a pole.

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Discoveries, aspirations, perils, mourning, love, deceit and silent company; as the privately public venue reacts with the liquid treats, the inconspicuous café becomes a Mecca of secret enchantment. Whether with a friend, acquaintance or solitary, it is a chance to indulge in yourself or your accomplice. Alone is very good. Like a catholic repenting your sins behind a swirly grate, you are fantastic, beautifully blighted and anonymous; protected by a bubble of seating and varying souls. Café strangers know nothing and never ask why. 1963, Bernard Kops writes in The World Is A Wedding: “So I came into my kingdom of Soho where I could be as mad as I wanted…in a café called The Alex I wrote the day away. The bums of Soho became my family, the café my womb.”

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How many times have you been out having coffee with a friend and they say ‘I had the strangest dream last night’? What follows is usually a tale of twisted environments, people doing strange things and then a good, shared chuckle. On that token, have you ever had someone come up to you and say ‘I had the most normal dream last night’ …unless you’re a cognitive therapist dealing with a unique patient who has an altered sense of reality, I highly doubt it. Some people are too fixed on being serious or being ‘in real world’ but let me just say, to the subconscious mind, a dream experience is just as real as the physical real world.
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Bristol is regarded as a port city. We’ve got the harbour, we’ve got the bridges, we’ve got the boats, the ferries, the locks, the wildlife and now, thankgod, we’ve got the aquarium too! Winner!

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My Milkshake Brings All The Boys To The Yard

When hearing the word “Milkshake”, the naïve among you will no doubt already have a firm favourite from the exhausted choice of strawberry, chocolate, banana or vanilla. This is all well and good if you are content spending those long-awaited summer days sipping on your usual mundane beverage but for some, this does not suffice. To ensure that you are not disappointed with your milky treat, my plan is to delve much deeper into the world of milkshakes in search of weird and wonderful flavours to satisfy the needs of the milkshake thrill seekers of Bristol. There will be six contenders, each marked on originality, generosity of portion and value for money. Let the Bristol Milkshake Challenge begin!!

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