Swinging Sixties at Shirehampton's Christmas bash

There's always one, isn't there. Most people attending SCAF's superb annual Christmas Dinner at Kings Weston House on Saturday interpreted the theme 'Swinging Sixties' with a sophisticated nod to the decade - perhaps a slightly shorter skirt than usual, with knee-high boots, or a tasteful 'flower-power' motif in the button hole.

Not our elected Council representative for a ward that shall remain nameless- No. They entered into the swing of things in full wig-wearing style. But everyone was polite enough not to notice.

The SCAF Christmas dinner has become a real annual highlight. The picture here shows the braver guests of the evening attempting a group-version of The 12 Days Of Christmas karaoke style.

It is very good to see the whole community enjoying one of the hidden gems of Bristol - Kings Weston House. An historic beauty of a building, resurrected from the near-dead by John Hardy and his team.

Just the day before, Lord Heseltine had dropped in to see Kings Weston House on his way through Bristol and had admired the suspended staircase - one of just two of its kind in existence. Thankfully there were no luminous shirts or awful wigs in evidence on that occasion - but whether it's a grand event, or a more relaxed evening with the community and friends, Kings Weston House is always a unique, and wonderful venue.

Southmead Rugby Club celebrates new changing rooms -with Darth Vader!

On Sunday, I spent the day at Southmead Rugby Club's celebration of the opening of their brand new changing rooms. I visited the changing rooms only a few weeks ago, and to be honest, when I saw them, I couldn't believe they were going to be ready in time. But thanks to the sterling work of Barry Jakes, Mickey Pierce, Gary Mills, Jason Silcox and the team, I was proved spectacularly wrong! It was particularly impressive because many of those working on building the changing rooms were either local men, or members of the club, working for a reduced fee to get it done for the community.


They laid on a fantastic day; a match with international players, then celebrations in the club house, followed by a superb dinner. Southmead man, Dave Prowse, was the guest of honour - better known as Darth Vader. He gave a speech, including some new words to the Star Wars theme, (which you can see exclusively here thanks to youtube!) and auctioned off his last Light Sabre, which raised well over £2000 for the club.



The dinner was followed by a performance from local band, Hooper - and a good time was had by all.

It was a superb day, and was a good demonstration of the real community spirit of Southmead in action! Well done and thank to all involved.

We will remember them

At 10.30am, it started to pour down. But the stalwart crowds who were assembled to pay their respects to the fallen brave, and our forces fighting today were not to be put off by a bit of rain.
As we laid our wreaths and sang hymns, and finished with the national anthem, I doubt there were many of us there who were not thinking of the enormous sacrifices our armed forces are taking at this very moment. Our thoughts today go out to all those who have served and fallen in the past, and all those serving in our armed forces today, and their families. Today is a special day of remembrance, but every day is a day to be acutely mindful of the magnitude of the risks being taken, and the sacrifices being made by our armed forces.

Manor Farm Boys Club

It was an inspiration visiting Manor Farm Boys Club. Not only has it resisted the tide of political correctness in holding onto its single-sex status, and it's original name, but it is also an example of what can be done, not by endless meetings and discussion, but by just using initiative and getting on with it.

The club is a bit of a tardis - much larger on the inside than it seems on the outside. And they have made superb use of space, with a new gym and an art room and store-cupboards in every available corner.

The club also owns a cottage in Wales for community adventure weekends, which it lets out to other youth clubs and organisations across Bristol. When I visited, they were also making use of the demand for parking spaces by people coming to watch the (sadly unsuccessful) Rovers game, and charging for car-parking.

It was really encouraging to see community minded people taking the initiative and making the club work - even more so when you realise that most of those now involved in the club came through it themselves and have grown up to want to put something back in. That's real sustainability.

Filton Sea Cadets - fundraising needed!

If more children were given the kind of opportunities those at Filton Sea Cadets get, to learn a multitude of skills and discipline, our antisocial behaviour problem would be much diminished.

I went to visit Scott Stevens, ( pictured) of Filton Sea Cadets to see if I could help them raise much needed funds to renovate their premises at Horfield's T.A Centre.

What struck me most was the manners and courtesy of the young people there. I had a bit of trouble getting in, initially - and one of the boys let me in and pointed me in the right direction, and with exceptional courtesy made sure I knew where I was going and how to find the person I had come to see.

Scott himself has invested huge amounts of his own personal time and money in helping to renovate the crumbling premises in which the Sea Cadets are currently housed. They need all the support they can get - and there are few initiatives that are more valuable than this one. So if you can help, get in touch with the Filton Sea Cadets, by emailing Maz: Mazbissell@blueyonder.co.uk

Come to "Southmead's Got Talent" Grand Karaoke Final!

This Sunday, ( 18th October) it's the Grand Final of Southmead's Karaoke competition. It promises to be unmissable. 7 contestants, aged from 11-65 have gone through the heats to reach this final stage.

We are also luck to have Bristol's former WBC Super Middleweight Champion of the World, Glenn Catley on the panel of celebrity judges. I'll be sitting beside Glenn on the celebrity panel. Now there's a man whose decisions you don't want to disagree with too much...

But that's not all that's happening: There is also a full line up of family entertainment, courtesy of local performers, such as The Southmead Pride Majorettes, and the Ds Streets Hip Hop Dance Troop. These are just some of the groups that Southmead Pride sponsors and supports.

A large amount of Southmead Pride's money for the community is raised through The Southmead Carol Bus Appeal. The whole thing has been more or less instigated by one local man - Cliff Howell, and what he has achieved for the community over the years is testament to just what can be achieved by one man.

So come along for a great afternoon, supporting local community groups at the same time.

WHERE? Southmead Community Centre
WHEN? This Sunday, 18th October, 3pm onwards
TICKETS? Just £5

For more information, go to www.southmeadpride.co.uk
or call Cliff's Florists on 0117 593999

And this is Southmead's Carol Bus in action...!

On the Henbury beat with the police

Last Friday between 5.30pm and 1am, I joined the local police as they were out patrolling Henbury - and the notorious Crow Lane. I was wanting to see the youth crime problem from the other side- from the perspective of the police. I followed Sgt. Terry Scoble who explained their Zero Tolerance policing policy for parts of Henbury. To be honest, I was expecting riots on the streets, but on the night I was out the place was remarkably deserted.

As we drove round, meeting and dealing with small clusters of varyingly nuisance young people, one thing struck me: It was Friday night, and the only facility open for young people was... not the Youth Club. Despite reassurances that it would be open on Friday night, the youth club was closed. What about the Youth Bus? The Youth Bus seemed no where to be found. The only place open for young people was the voluntary organisation - where no one was paid to be there- it was Emmanuel Chapel.

For me that spoke volumes, and took me back to David Camerons' conference speech, and what he said about liberating communities from an over-bearing and inefficient state. So often, the best way the state can help the community is to channel all its support and resources into helping other organisations, real, organic, community organisations, do the work.

it was a fascinating and valuable experience coming out with the police. I'd like to thank Sgt. Terry Scoble and his team for being so accommodating, and providing such an informative and educational evening.

One of Britain's strangest pubs ?

This has little to do with Bristol, but it is so extraordinary, I thought it merited a blog anyway:

On my way up to the Conservative party conference in Manchester, I couldn't resist stopping by at what must be one of Britain's strangest pubs: Somerset House, in Stourbridge.

From the outside, an unremarkable red-brick pub. But Somerset House holds a secret - as yet unexplained by scientists: it is possible to suspend a full pint glass from the wall by rubbing it up and down on the wall until it 'sticks'.

One theory, when the pub was wall-papered instead of painted, was that it was the wall-paper-paste underneath that somehow stuck the glass to the wall: but the wall paper has since been stripped off and the wall painted over. And the pints still stick. A real mystery.

This picture isn't photo-shopped, it's real. Go to Somerset House, in Stourbridge and see for yourself.

Creating a Huge Stir in Henbury

There are certain landmark events in the year of a candidate - and MacMillan's "Big Stir" coffee morning is one of them. This is the third event I've been to as a candidate, and every year I am bowled over by the energy and determination of the local communities who organise them, with Macmillan.

This year, I was once again at Henbury's coffee morning, with Henbury's new Councillor, Chris Windows. (Seen here causing havoc with the raffle). The Scout Hut on Tranmere Avenue was packed out. There was a seemingly never-ending stream of raffle prizes - testament to the generosity of local people - and some superb stalls of locally hand-made crafts, cards and cakes.

And at time of writing, the Henbury Big Stir alone raised over £800.

And a special congratulations must go to Cynthia Reynolds, Carole Lye and their team for making it such a successful day.

Anyone who has had contact with the work the Macmillan nurses do, will know how valuable the cancer care they give really is. They looked after my gran in her last days, and I will never forget their gentleness and expertise, and how reassuring they were to the rest of the family as well. It's hard to find someone who has not in some way come into contact with the work they do.

Even if you could not make the coffee morning, you can still donate to Macmillan - just click here to support.

Christmas starts now, for Brentry's big lights display

Some months ago now, I bumped into Lee and Paul Brailsford taking down their magnificent Christmas lights display.

Yesterday, I came across Lee Brailsford again - just beginning the mammoth task of erecting their extraordinary, charity-fundraising lights display.

For the Brailsford brothers, Christmas starts in September. The amount of time and effort - not to mention their own money -these local residents invest in providing a focal point to be enjoyed by all the community at Christmas is astounding.

The Big Light Up is on 1st December, and Lee told me how the traditional elements of Christmas provide so much joy for so many people in the community -particularly the elderly. You just have to read their comments page to see how much it means to so many people.

And last year, the brothers raised over £2000 for the Childrens Hospital. Not bad for a tradition that started out as two boys enjoying decking out their mum's house at Christmas... and just shows what can be achieved with a bit of determination, vision and quite a lot of hard work!