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.

Read the rest of this entry »

‘My idea is that there is music all around us; the world is full of it, and you simply take as much as you can.’ One might consider Edward Elgar’s quote some sort of prophecy. When you look at the way in which music is consumed these days it seems Elgar’s ethos is literally being played out. There is no denying the effect modern technology has had upon independent music stores, with the internet being (generally) free, easy and more convenient. Some might argue the progress has been liberating, others diminishing with hundreds of independent record stores being buried across the world in the past twenty years.

Read the rest of this entry »

Saturday 11th until Sunday 26th September 2010 @ Across Bristol

For the first time, this September for two weeks Bristol will be awash with a cultural extravaganza with over 100 events all around cycling! There will be cycle theatre, cycle tours, cycle films, cycle street games, cycle fashion, cycle talks, cycle activism, and cycle-powered music: Cycle-riffic!

Read the rest of this entry »

With two universities and a massive student population, Bristol has been named one of the coolest cities in the country. People like Banksy have made Bristol’s street art infamous (did anyone manage to miss the unfeasibly massive queue outside the museum during his exhibition?) and areas like Stokes Croft have worked tirelessly to drag themselves from ‘rough and run down’ to become key to Bristol’s cultural heart, but like any other large city, Bristol has a “drug problem”.

Read the rest of this entry »

Friday 27th until Sunday 29th August 2010 @ Secret Location, Northamptonshire

It felt like most of Bristol had upped sticks to live in the flamboyant, glittery, eco conscious land of Shambala for a few days. If only this festival existed all the time, 365 days a year, down a spankly little portal. Whipping on a furry lion suit and faux diamond encrusted headband, we could simply take a shimmy ‘Shambala break’. Be there dancing with men in tight pink trousers and women in purple wigs - kids dressed as monsters. But unfortunately this world doesn’t sit next to the KitKats in the vending machine at work and we have to make do with the Shambalic festival pleasure but once a year.
Read the rest of this entry »

On a basic level, you can buy pretty much all you need in Brislington. Along Sandy Hill you’ll find a decent butcher, convenience stores, a café and close by some handy corner shops, one of which I use for milk, bread and toilet paper on a regular basis. In fact, if I didn’t ‘want’ to shop in the nearby Tesco or Sainsbury’s, I could happily avoid them altogether.

Read the rest of this entry »

Friday 30th and Saturday 31st July 2010 @ Gilcombe Farm, Somerset
Featuring Performances From: High Grade Rockers Dub Sound System, The Fables, Smerins Anti Social Club, Paper Tiger, Sabria Jade, Asian Hawk

Farm Festival is a two day little festival that gives you a mixture of live local bands and DJs spinning there ones and twos. With a strong anti-corporate sentiment (all the money raised is donated to the charity Practical Action) and with all food organic and local, Farm Festival is very rural.

Read the rest of this entry »

Friday 30th July until Sunday 1st August 2010 @ City Centre, Bristol

Read the rest of this entry »

Thursday 5th until Sunday 8th August 2010 @ Watershed, Bristol

The bike holds a special place in the hearts of Bristol’s ever-growing cycling community and to celebrate the many pleasures to be had on two wheels, Watershed is hosting Cyclescreen, Bristol’s first Bike Film Festival, a season of fun, inspiring cycling films, talks and events for riders and non-riders alike. Cyclescreen’s wide variety of features, documentaries and shorts cover the wonderful diverse landscape, from the bicycle’s rich history, to cycling communities, disabled riders and lovers of road racing, mountain biking and BMX riding.

www.watershed.co.uk

Friday 23rd until Sunday 25th July 2010 @ Charlton Park, Wiltshire
Featuring Performances From: Calypso Rose, Little Axe, Ozomatli, LaBrassBanda, The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, Imogen Heap, Refugee All Stars, Rolf Harris, Imelda May, Gill Scott Heron

The weather is fine and the ground dry as friends help me pitch a last-minute-bought tent for my umpteenth WOMAD since I were a young lass. The campsite has showers and the toilets have cleaners. We’re off to a brilliant start.

Read the rest of this entry »