Is the world’s longest running medical drama moving on?

First aired in 1986, an impressive 682 episodes have been transmitted of Casualty over the last 23 years and it is an award winning, flagship programme of Saturday night BBC television. We can all instantly recognise the theme tune and although the series is set in the fictional city of Holby, we all know its real name is Bristol. Things are not all well in camp Casualty at the moment though, as the latest of the BBC’s big plans of action is to move this much loved Bristol based series over the Severn to Cardiff, creating a huge debate among fans, staff and cast of the series.
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This summer’s ultimate accessory for any fashionista is a glass of Pink bubbles. Pink sparkling wine with its soft, ice pink colour and delicate bead is the deliciously decedent way to get thing rolling this season with the girls.

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When the sun sets at four in the afternoon to be replaced by nothing but sleet and howling gales and the average temperature barely peeks above freezing, there’s only one place to go – underground! Bristol is famed for it charismatic converted wine cellars and one conversion that has to be up there with the finest is Racks Bar and Kitchen on St Pauls Road in Clifton. In summer it’s got a sunny terrace for top-side BBQs and parties but as the cold weather draws in, you can’t help but be drawn underground to the fantastic warm bar with its low, curved ceilings.
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Thursday 11th December 2008 until Sunday 11th January 2009 @ Tobacco Factory Theatre, Bristol

“If I could work my will, I would have every fool who says ‘Merry Christmas’ boiled inside his own pudding…”

As a young man, Ebeneezer Scrooge dreamed of being a world-class inventor. But that was long ago, before life turned his ambition to dust and left him a bumbling, grouchy old miser who can’t even see the point of Christmas. This seasonal night however, his world is about to be turned upside down when some rather unexpected guests arrive to whisk him away on a whirlwind journey through the strange and vivid landscapes of his past, present and future…

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There is nothing more Christmassy then sitting in front of a warm fire. Christmas would be rubbish without fireplaces; nowhere to hang stockings, no place for milk and cookies and it’s Santa’s only way in! Here are some of the best fireplaces in Bristol for indulging in that Christmas spirit.

The King William Pub, King Street
As you step off the cobbled street, there’s the choice of three fireplaces all roaring your welcome. This pub is spectacularly cosy with its wooden fireplace, surrounded by brass plates and gas lamps glowing with light. Wooden beams stripe the ceiling, making you feel that you have just stepped back in time to meet the ghosts of Christmas past.
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Sick to the back teeth of the same old tat on offer at Christmas time? Yearning for those days gone by where roasted chestnuts glowed in the twilight while cheeky cockney street urchins ran filthy-faced and barefoot amongst Christmas carollers knee-deep in snow? Well why not get into the spirit of Christmas at one of Bristol’s much-loved Christmas markets?!

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Winter in damp, squishy England can be a miserable time, what with ‘Seasonal Affective Disorder’, continual drizzle and the realisation that blue is the best way to describe your skin tone. But fear not, for those who are willing to pull on their boots and wrap up warm, there IS a reason to brave the cold outdoors. And that, my friends, is chocolate.

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This exquisite new Diamantaire jewellery collection is the perfect gift for girls that love to sparkle! Exclusive to Ideal World, Diamantaire is a range of breathtaking designer style jewellery that is easy on the eye and on the pocket.

Set in luxurious sterling silver, the clear and crisp stones used in the Diamantaire collection echo the brilliance of ‘D’ flawless diamonds, giving off a dazzling bright white sparkle at less than a tenth of the price!

www.idealworld.tv

It borders on the impossible to dine in Bristol and not enter a building with ‘history’. The Riverstation, for example, was a former police station. Do you need to know this before booking a table? No; but as a conversational point of fact, it did spark half-hearted interest amongst my companions - not a peep though regarding the restaurant’s environmental element. Did you realise it was externally insulated in 1997 and, in a bid to become carbon neutral, is facilitated by two acres of planted woodland? All I got for ‘that’ research were raised menus. I looked down shamefully, at the Forest Stewardship Council certified oak flooring.
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Ever noticed the ‘secret door’ in the wall? Or seagull’s feet pitter-pattering above your head as if through grains of sand, as you dine in the Spyglass? Or the hues of vibrant skies silhouetting Bristol’s bridges or solid, angular buildings? Ever noticed - the man lying unconscious by your feet, as you wait for your bus home?

These were just a few of the many visual moments captured by 80 entrants in the recent photography competition, ‘Bristol: A Second Look’, organised by Second Look, a local photography collective masterminded by Lisa Furness, and supported by Cyan Arts, a local photographic art gallery created by Gillian Stewart and Jade French. Cyan Arts and Second Look are inspired by the same vision – for local like-minded photographic artists to be able to meet and exhibit their work.

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