hotwells news - spring 2006

8/9/2019 Hotwells News - Spring 2006

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1 H O T W E L L S & C L I F T O N W O O D

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On Monday 12 th December, Hotwells Primary School had a special visitor His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales came to see the schools organickitchen garden, which staff, children and parents have been developing dur-ing the last year.

The Prince was shown around theschool by head teacher Jenny Tay-lor. In the kitchen garden he metReception teacher Jeremy Leices-ter, whose idea it was to convertan underused corner of the play-ground into food production. ThePrince also met several children -Lula Ososki, Finley Wilks,Frederica Bullough and Tom Dunn,who explained their experimentcomparing onion grown with andwithout cloches. Tom Krause, Fin-bar Tillotson and Ella Torkildsen,showed The Prince the beetrootthey were harvesting. The Prince

also planted a cherry tree.Other activities during the visit included observing Class 2 experiencing a vegetablequiz run by the Duchy of Cornwalls Garden for Life Project; hearing Class 5 explainthe importance of eating locally grown food and listening to GP parent Dr CatherineZollman teaching Class 6 pupils about health and nutrition. The Prince also made asurprise visit to the kitchen where he met school chef Annette Morgan and tried hishand at stirring the custard!The Prince also joined in a tasting session, sampling green tomato chutney made fromvegetables grown in the garden. Daisy Dymond, from Class 2, presented the Princewith a jar of the chutney, which was made using her grandmothers recipe. Variousother gifts were presented during the visit, including a hand made ceramic sunflowersign, a poem about the organic garden, the Reception childrens book about HRH(which made him laugh a good deal!) and a copy of the schools cookbook Truly Scrumptious, produced by the PTA. This contains recipes from chefs Barny Haughtonand Mitchell Tonks, and others contributed by local food producers, parents and pu-pils. The cookbook is being sold as a fundraiser for a copy contact the school officeor The Clifton Bookshop or Fresh and Wild, cost 6.50.Meanwhile work in the organic garden continues. All Hotwells pupils have practical

gardening sessions during the year and thefood we harvest is eaten, both in classroom activities and sometimes in schooldinners. The school is currently in discus-sions with the LEA about upgrading thekitchen so that they will be able to pre-pare all meals from fresh, raw ingredientsrather than having to use some pre-prepared food products.

Emma Peddie

In this edition:Community News - 2Open Spaces - 3Community Forum - 4Meet Your Neighbour - 5Events & Activities - 6SS Great Britain - 7Contacts - 8

h &ccaHOTWELLS & CLIFTONWOOD

COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION

Prince Charles talks to children at Hotwells School

supported by


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Community Newsh &ccaHOTWELLS & CLIFTONWOOD

COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONO117 9291883

[email protected]

AGMThanks to all those of you who spared thetime to come to the Community Associa-tion Annual General Meeting in Novem-

ber. Attendance at such events is oftenseen as duty rather than a pleasure but it isencouraging that 60 people are preparedto make the effort. We had an interestingdiscussion on local gardens and openspaces, since these seem to be in the newsat the moment (see page 3 ) and the scenewas set for this by a lively presentation byMike Dilger a presenter on the BBCSpringwatch series of wildlife programmes.Faruk Choudhury, Sandra Fryer and AndyCurtis were elected as new members of the management committee (At the back of Hotwells News you will find a completelist). We lost the services of Stella Bland,who is now working in London. We wishher well and thank her for her work forthe Association.

Bulletin BoardTrevor George has now created a messageboard, associated with our website athttp://www.hotwellscliftonwood.org.uk/forums/ . This is a more dynamic and en-tertaining way of keeping in touch withlocal news and events than the newsgroupe-mail system. which we have been using.Give it a try. Anyone can post a messageor comment on an existing topic. Themore people that view and contribute, themore useful (and fun!) it becomes.

FundingWe were delighted to learn that our an-nual grant from Bristol City Council will beextended until at least September this yearwhile the regeneration team sorts out anew strategy for allocating grants.

The bad news is that it seems likely that wewill have more difficulty in meeting thenew criteria for financial support so willneed to be prepared to move rapidly to-wards financial self-sufficiency in the worstcase. Without a building base of our own,it is hard to see how we could ever gener-ate enough revenue to maintain a paidworker for example. You can help by join-ing the 500 Club lottery . Ring or e-mailthe office for an application form. If you al-ready subscribe; buy another for a friend!

Bristol South PoolSince possible closure of our nearest swim-ming poll was mentioned in our last edition,there has been a growing campaign to defer

any drastic action until a proper review of all the alternatives has been carried out.This has now been agreed by the cabinetand I, with about 50 others, attended aninaugural meeting of a Friends of BristolSouth Pool group at the Southville Centrein November. There seems to be a newdetermination to make it work and a newbusy schedule of sessions, clubs andclasses partly due, I suspect to the closureof Speedwell and Bristol North Pools.

Plastics RecyclingIt may or may not have been a completecoincidence but shortly after the appear-ance of the Citys Recycling Action team ata community links meeting, a plastic bottlere-cycling bin appeared in the group of con-tainers in the car park by the Rose of Den-mark. Apparently, there is a new special-ised vehicle which shreds the plastic as it isloaded to save space and make the wholeprocess more viable. Only plastic milk bot-tles are acceptable. No lids, caps or marga-rine pots etc.

Ray Smith

WILDLIFE IN HOTWELLSWith the destruction of Granby Green, birds have lost both winter shelter and a well-stocked larder. Please do what you can to help them survive the Winter and find nestingplaces. If you were contemplating pruning trees or bushes you might bear in mind thatbirds may be using that untidy patch for roosting at night. Perhaps you could be less dras-tic in your tidying, or even leave it for now and think of planting more bushes and provid-ing nesting boxes. Some people dont like ivy but it does little or no harm to trees andgives good cover for birds, plus winter berries and can provide flowers for bees and otherinsects right into the Winter. I wonder whether anyone living near Granby Green hasfound any refugees. In September a large frog appeared in our wa-

ter butt and we were pleased that it had escaped the massacre lastSpring when the breeding frogs were buried under piles of rubble.I have several little native trees, mostly grown from seed includinghazel, bay, holly and a horse chestnut. Ring me on 9291804 if youcan find a good home for them. Lynda Stahl

NEW FACES!

If you are new to the area,we wish you a very warmwelcome from all at the Hot-wells & Cliftonwood Com-munity Association.The H&CCA was founded in1972, and is one of the longest established andbest-known community or-ganisations in the area. It isrun on a voluntary basis,and is a registered charityand limited company. Theobjectives of the H&CCA areto improve the quality of lifefor those that live and workin Hotwells and Cliftonwoodand for this we rely on themany local volunteers whoare active in running our various groups and projects.

If you would like to find outmore about the work of theH&CCA, or would like to get

involved, please do get intouch. We would be reallydelighted to hear from you.For further information, visitour (soon to be updated!)w e b s i t e a t w w w .hotwellscliftonwood.org.uk/or contact our Administrator,Camilla Kesterton, at HopeChapel (see contact detailsabove) .We look forward to meetingyou!

Andy Curtis

Lockside AwardLockside Caf has beenawarded a plaque by theBristol Civic Society in rec-ognition of their success inregenerating the space un-der the Flyover. Locksidehas done much to transformthe aspect of this area frombeing neglected and vandal-ised to a desirable destina-tion for eating and relaxing.Many congratulations for their well-deserved achieve-ment!


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h &ccaHOTWELLS & CLIFTONWOOD

COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONO117 9291883

[email protected]

Open Spaces

Cliftonwood Terrace GreenAs previously reported, the Council will be selling off this land below CliftonwoodTerrace in the Spring of 2006.The future of the site is still uncertain although we have been assured it will be sold subject

to a covenant restricting its use to open space purposes. The sale will be announced in thepress in early February and bids will invited by a closing date of mid March. The Council saythat they will be evaluating bids not only on an exclusively financial basis but also taking intoaccount proposals for future use andmaintenance of the site.The Council seems committed to resist-ing any building development on the sitebut, following a number of public meet-ings last year, local people are united inwanting to ensure it is retained withpublic access. Cliftonwood Terrace resi-dents are therefore considering puttingin a bid with the full support of the

HCCA. Hopefully, this united approachwill strengthen the case we can put tothe Council and give local people accessto and involvement in a much-neededwild park /nature reserve which mightotherwise become a private residentsgarden. As a legally constituted body, and a registered charity, the HCCA could be eligiblefor grant funding for long term maintenance of this site. Grants would almost certainly needto be match funded, so some fund raising work would be required in order that there is nodirect cost to the CAs current limited financial resources.

Argyle Place Park

The Councils Park Department are meeting with local residents in January to finalise plansfor replacing the play equipment in the Argyle Place Park, which the Council has agreed topay for. Fundraising and donations during 2005 have raised a total of 1400 which will alsobe put towards the project. The hope is to put in equipment suitable for under 5s, to re-place the current slide with a tower/slide that is accessible to children of all ages and to putin additional seating. Moving the existing gates will also improve safety and make better useof the space. There is no intention to encroach on the popular footballing area or overfillthe small park with play equipment we all like it pretty much the way it is, but with a few

improvements. Rubber crumb was added to the football area in the autumn to improvedrainage and give the grass a better chance.

For more details contact Emma Peddie on 923 0343 or email [email protected]

Butterfly Junction

This is the name being given to the wild area betweenA and B Bonds and the area to the north of A bond(by Create Centre). It seems that this area is officiallyprotected as a butterfly sanctuary. There is good au-thority that states nearly a quarter of the total butter-fly species found in the UK breed here. SouthvilleCommunity Development Association have beenawarded a grant to draw up a Management Plan for

Butterfly Junction, and a meeting of SCDA, HCCA, BCC Parks Department, BCCSustainable city team, Avon wildlife, and the railway section of the museum was heldon 10 January. The aim is to set up a communication and information group to repre-sent the interests of, and oversee the management plan for, the Junction. If anyonewould like to be kept informed of the outcomes and/or join in future activities, please

let me know . Mike Timmins

Works on the PortwayIn case you were wonderingwhy it all seems to havegone very quiet at the Wes-sex Water construction site,we are told that they haverun into some difficultieswith the design of the tem-porary works related to theground conditions. Wessexhope this will be resolvedand construction will start inMarch after the Council has

approved the changes. Asfor poor old Samuel Plim-soll, we have been in-formed - following discus-sions with Bristol City Coun-cil and having established apossible new site there is apossibility that it can be relo-cated. However this has tohave approval from EnglishHeritage etc

The overgrown site below Cliftonwood Terrace

Tables Together This is a very simple idea.Enjoy a meal and a fewdrinks in the company of local people at a local eat-ery. You may know someof the people already, butif you don't, you soon will.Everybody is welcome.The tables will be put to-gether and you pay onlyfor what you eat and

drink. It's called "TablesTogether" and if peoplelike the idea it will happenfrom time to time at differ-ent local eateries, allwithin walking distance of where you live.The next date is set for 8pm on Friday 24th Feb-ruary. If you would like to joinus, simply phone Mark or Marian on 9294646 so we

have an idea of the num-bers and we can let youknow where it will be.


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Readers RantThis slot is for anyone who wants to let off steam about problems affecting our local area.Views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the Community Association .

Wheres Barbara?I have been very disappointed over thelast year in the total lack of interest

shown in any of our activities by our localcouncillor Barbara Janke.We have had no support or indeed anycomment on the concerns and issuesraised on traffic, parking and environ-mental issues. A recent submission con-cerning increased central area parking andpark and ride charges (Cabinet 13 th Octo-ber 2005) that would increase the com-muter parking problems of our area elic-ited many thanks. We took note of yourcomments at last evening's Cabinet meet-ing. The document was, however, passedin its original form.One can only envy our friends in South-ville whose councillors are actively sup-porting them in their efforts to deal withsimilar problems. Their representationswere similarly ignored by the BristolCabinet but at least they tried!In efforts to safeguard the open space be-low Cliftonwood Terrace it has been im-possible to get even a meeting with ourcouncillor to request help, let alone re-ceive any active support.I believe Individuals elected to the councilto represent local interests should at leastmake themselves available to hear whattheir constituents are thinking and not

just in the run up to elections. James Smith

Peter Ware, architect 1929 1999 The work of a much-loved and respected local resident, Peter Ware is soon, it is hoped, to gain more recognition. ThePeter Ware Memorial Committee was formed with the aim of creating a permanent visual memorial to a man whose lifeand work was of great significance to the architecture of the West of England. The committees Honorary Chairman is Bris-

tol-based George Ferguson, President of the Royal Institute of BritishArchitects, and most of its members are residents of Hotwells, par-ticularly of Dowry Square, where Peter Ware lived most of his life. Itis for this reason that the planned memorial is a brass and steelplaque, part of which is intertwined with the historic iron railings atthe foot of the Square gardens. The memorial has been designed by

Janet Margrie, a local artist and particular friend of Peter.If you would like to support this project e-mail the HCCA office [email protected] or send a SAE for a leaflet givingdetails of the project. You can also contact the Architecture Cen-tre, , Narrow Quay. Bristol, BS1 4QA

SHOOTS FLOATING

BAR & RESTAURANT

. Tel: 07771 606779Www.shootsrestaurant.co.uk

The restaurant is closed tempo-rarily while the boat is in the Un-derfall Yard for its marine in-spection. We hope to resume business at the end of January.

The idea of a broad network of organisations active in Hotwells &Cliftonwood was floated in the last newsletter. Now we have identi-fied the state of business, particularly the retail sector as a major concern which will form the first topic for Community Forum to

explore..It is obvious to anyone walkingdown Hotwell Road that somebusinesses are doing well andothers are struggling. Thetrend over the last few yearshas been for utility shops thatmight tempt people to visitregularly to disappear so thatlocal people are forced to gofurther afield for necessitieslike groceries, vegetables, anewspaper or dare we men-tion, a book of stamps.We want to stem this deterio-ration if possible and help thebusinesses we still have towork together to make thewhole area a more attractivedestination for shopping, eat-ing and drinking. We are allresponsible for this do youuse your local pharmacy fordispensing prescriptions, for

example! Other areas of the City like St. Marks Road and Christmas Stepshave demonstrated that change is possible. There is a good possibility wecan get some financial help to employ a consultant to advise local traders onhow they might help themselves and how we can help them.If you have an interest in this subject, you should sign up for Community Fo-rum membership. You will then automatically be invited to any discussionsthat take place. E-mail the office or phone (contact details on back page of this newsletter). We hope to be able to convene a meeting sometime inFebruary or early March.

Community Forum

Hotwells Road shops


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Visiting Hotwells own Day Centre is a joy. Everyone I have spokento expresses such enthusiasm for the meals, the company and the en-tertainment.

Its purpose is to help older people main-tain independence, and as well as offering ameal cooked on the premises by Rachel beef stew with apple crumble for puddingor a proper roast with all the trimmings,for just 2.90, there is entertainment or anopportunity to get taken shopping at oneof the supermarkets or have clothes ma-chine washed and dried on the premises,for 1.50 per load.Manager, Mark Griffiths told me that al-though the Centre uses part of TrinityChurch it has no religious affinity. Bristol

City Council Social Services and Healthprovides core funding and refer people assessed by them or by nurses at clinics. Friendsor families can refer via Social Services older people with substantial or critical needs.These new, more rigorous criteria mean clients may be less active and less able to par-ticipate in future, making it more difficult for the service to help people to keep activeand remain in their own homes. They have raised funds for hearing loops, a wirelessmicrophone for use by entertainers, a new computer and a large cinema screen which

can be linked to DVDs, videos orslides. Volunteer helpers are alsohighly valued.Afternoon entertainment and activi-ties, organised currently by Sarah Grif-fiths, include armchair exercises, bingo,

talks from invited speakers, entertain-ment, games, discussions and onThursdays, Councillor Brian Price isthe regular question master for a quizdevised by Margo Price!Some people come every weekday(except Mondays) others a day or twoor three and arrive in the minibus ortaxi. Albert Twigg comes for three

days and enjoys the meals. He used to go to watch Bristol City football club but oncewasnt allowed in because of his walking stick- it was thought he could use it as aweapon! So now he watches it on television. Edie, a regular user, remembers seeing abomb dropping on Trinity Church from the top floor flat in Hillsborough- and having torun down all the stairs to a shelter. Stella Street, 83, and Pam Stradling, 73, come everyThursday for the company, the entertainment and the food. Sheila Kirsh, 71, originally

from Nottingham, wouldnt have known whatto do when her husband died, with no rela-tives here, enjoys lunches on Thursdays andFridays, cant fault the staff the transport-the driver who makes sure were all safe andthe entertainment - the nurse who does talkson health, the police about security and thefireman. Also she likes the fact that peoplecome to sell cards and soap etc. Dora Hann,nearly 85, comes all four days for the com-pany and the dinners.We owe a massive thanks to all the dedicatedstaff and volunteers at Trinity. They performan invaluable service that any of us might begrateful for sooner or later!

Helen Smith

Meet Your Neighbour Trinity Day Centre

Specialist in Floor Maintenance,Carpets, Windows and Daily

Office Cleaning.Fully Insured

G. J. TREASURECLEANING CONTRACTORS

5 Britannia Buildings

Merchants RoadHotwells

Bristol BS8 4QD

Tel: (0117) 9290578 Fax: 9144316

Brian Price conducts the weekly quiz

Rachel (left) and Mark (right) planning the day


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Events and ActivitiesCONTEMPORARY PAINTINGS * PRINTS

JEWELLERY * CERAMICS * ENAMELSCARDS * SCULPTURE

84 86 HOTWELL ROAD BRISTOL BS8 4UBTELEPHONE 0117 929 2527

TUES-FRI 10AM4.45PM Sat. 10AM5PMCLOSED MON.

Hotwells PantomimeAn everyday tale of good triumphing overevil as poor boy makes good. Sound fa-miliar? This year, Dick Whittington fea-tures in the latest, spectacular , no ex-pense, block buster from the team thatbrought you ...last years pantomime. Yes,its time to boo and hiss, laugh and cry(and not always for the right reasons).This durable antidote to Winter blues isalways bursting with enthusiasm and sur-prises.

The Panto is at Hope Chapel from Wednesday Mar 8thSat. Mar 11th.Tickets 7 adults, 6 concs, 5child obtainable from 1st Februaryby telephoning Carol Arnold 01275461 262

JULIA NORMANM.S.T.A.T

Alexander TechniqueTeacher

by appointmentTelephone 0117 9277005

Tel: 0117 9292118Email: [email protected]

www.bristolcommunitydancecentre.co.uk

Bristol Old Vic and SouthwestScriptwriters are set to co-producea new play by local writer Peter Kesterton.Air Guitar, was the winning entry inthe 2005 Southwest Scriptwriters Play-writing Competition. This is his first full-length stage production.The play is set in the wilds of the WestCountry outside an old caravan in afield. When urbane TV producer Mikevisits his estranged and isolated brotherEdward, they struggle to find any com-mon ground. Playing air guitar one nightis a reminder of happier days, but be-neath such youthful games, Mike beginsto suspect there lies something moresinister.On at Bristol Old Vic Studio from

January 25 th February 11 th . Tobook tickets please phone the boxoffice 0117 987 7877

Hats off toBrunel

The ExhibitionH o t w e l l s &Cliftonwood will be celebratingBrunel 200 with a mixed media exhi-bition of work produced by local art-ists round a Brunel theme atTHE CREATE CENTRETuesday 4th April 2006 untilThursday 27th April 2006Open Monday to Friday 10am-4pm

The Great Stove-Pipe HatCompetition

Entrants are asked to design andmake an alternative, innovative usefor Brunel's stove-pipe hat. This willdemand ingenuity, lateral thinking andalthough some standard joke shophats are available for use as a base itis hoped that a wide range of materi-als from fabric to clay and everythingin between will be used. Above all,this exhibition should be great fun.There is a prize of 250 for the out-right winner.More details, application forms andbargain price hats at 2.50 (not abso-lutely necessary) are available by tele-phoning 0117 927 7157Entries for this competition will bedisplayed at the CREATE Centre dur-ing April alongside the Art Exhibition

Sarah GuppyA small exhibition about SarahGuppy, a Victorian lady interested inengineering will all be on display, anda performance about her presentedby Kim Hicks from "Show of Strength" will take place in the lec-ture theatre at CREATE Centreon Wednesday 27th April at7.30pm

For further information contact SueStops, tel: 0117 927 7157email [email protected]

Brunel 200 is an initiative of Bristol Cultural Devel-opment Partnership, Arts Council England SouthWest, Bristol City Council and Business South West

A scene from the 2004 pantomime


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Sui GenerisHair & Beauty

255 HOTWELL ROAD,HOTWELLS, BRISTOL BS8 4SF

BOOKING & ADVICE LINE0117 925 3611

www.sui-generis.me.uk

SS Great Britain; star of Hotwells heritage Brunels SS Great Britain is steaming ahead with an action-packed 2006.A major highlight for the museum ship attraction is 'Brunel 200' - the200th anniversary of the engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel's birth.Brunel's ss Great Britain, in Bristol, is holding a number of specialevents including a nationally important exhibition for Brunel 200 andthe official turning on of a full-scale working model of Brunel's 1845engine, inside the ship.It follows completion of the 11.3 million programme of works, in

July 2005, to save Brunel's ss Great Britain and make her one of theworld's most exciting historic ships. The steamship is playing a majorpart in the Brunel 200 celebrations. They include the exciting newexhibition, entitled 'The Nine Lives of I.K. Brunel', from April 1 toOctober 31, in the SS Great Britain Trust's Maritime Heritage Cen-tre. The exhibition, which focuses on Brunel's roller-coaster personaland professional life, is twinned with nearby visitor attraction At Bris-tol's 'The Forces that Made I.K. Brunel'. Exhibits on show in theMaritime Heritage Centre include many loaned from museums andcollections across the UK. The biggest is a 50-tonne replica broadgauge locomotive, the 'Iron Duke', which has to be transported fromthe National Railway Museum in York. A full-scale turning model of Brunel's original 1845 engine, with sounds and smells, will be in placein Spring. Visitors will have the chance to find out what life was reallylike for the Victorian stokers and engineers, who were responsible forensuring the ship would steam safely and to a timetable to New York.Visitor facilities are due to be improved with a new waterside ticket office and caf bar, due to open in time forthe 2006 Easter holiday.See www.ssgreatbritain.org for information about further events and activities.

Copyright SS Great Britain Trust


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