Easton is home to one of the most diverse communities in the inner city. As you are already aware this area formed the old gateway to the city in the 1600’s, was the most dynamic and exciting shopping area of it’s kind in 1880 but were short changed during redevelopment after the war, the council fell woefully short of the promises it made to the local community and seemingly put barriers in place to prevent people from shopping in the area.

Despite all these issues and challenges the residents of Easton have faced they remain resilient, the area is rich in cultural diversity, people arrive on a daily basis and new business emerges from the dark shadows of the boarded up, once forgotten shop facades. A real sense of achievement, of individuality and most importantly of hope is whispered over the hum of traffic in Easton and one road stands clear as a beacon example for all the rest to follow. St Mark’s Road, the very heart of cultural diversity and peaceful cooperation.

Temples, mosques and churches share the street with beautiful restaurants, shops and the lively and friendly Sugar Loaf Pub. On St Mark’s road you can buy literally anything and everything you could possibly need and at far cheaper prices than the evil supermarket minutes down the road. The area very much like Stapleton Road has a great sense of community but feels obviously quite different. This is partly achieved due to the limitation of cars on St Mark’s Road, also a factor is that this area has been longer established in terms of the traders in comparison to its larger sister.

Once a year the people of St Mark’s road celebrate the summer in style with a fabulous street party, the intention is just to have fun, in the past there have been processions from different schools in the area, films shown by local directors discussing the plight of the area and boasting easily the best food, vegan and otherwise, Bristol has to offer. St Mark’s Road street party is a family friendly celebration of cultural diversity that sees thousands of residents and visitors dancing together in the streets! People bring out their wares to sell and for one day at least in the calendar nothing seems to matter aside from enjoyment.