Nice one, Andy Unicorns are Aretha and Amelia
BETTER late than never … I recently found a longforgotten note to myself written sometime last year. It was the result of a silly conversation on social media in which we were wondering what the names of the Council House, I mean City Hall, unicorns should be.
This in turn was an extension of something we had in Bristol Times around the same time, but on Twitter a chap named Andy Elms came up with an answer. Both unicorns are girls, and their names are Aretha and Amelia.
His reasoning:
“Aretha is a girl’s name of Greek origin meaning virtuous.
“Amelia is derived from Latin, it means industrious.”
Do you see what he did there? Do you understand that this is pure Genius??! Well do you?!
Their names are Aretha and Amelia, and we will brook no dissent. Tell your children and grandchildren next time you’re passing City Hall. And don’t thank me, thank Mr Andy Elms.
Crane appeal
The famous cranes outside M Shed, rescued for Bristol back when the City Docks were being closed down and everything going to scrap, are starting to show their age.
Money is now needed for urgent conservation work.
Andy King, Senior Curator of Social, Industrial & Maritime History at M Shed, explains why they’re important: “Cranes are emblematic of ports – they are the physical link between the city and the far-flung parts of the globe that the ships have come from. Once the cranes have gone, the landscape no longer looks like a port and a significant connection to the city’s maritime past has gone.
“I hope you feel able to contribute towards their conservation. Please help us to guarantee the survival of these Bristol icons for the future.”
Donations, no matter how small (but preferably big!) can be made via www.justgiving.com/ campaign/bristolcranes
Soroptimist book
Back in May BT carried an article by Marion Reid, the current President of Soroptimist International Bristol, which is this year marking its centenary. The Bristol Venture
Club, as it was initially, was established as a sort of female equivalent of the Rotarians (which didn’t admit women in 1920). It was one of the first organisations of its kind in the world, so hurrah for Bristol.
The Bristol Soroptimists have a distinguished history of getting involved in charitable and community work, both locally and internationally, with most of their efforts focussed on the welfare of women and girls.
It’s too bad that Covid-19 put a stop to many of their planned celebrations, but they recently launched Marion’s history of SI Bristol.
100 Years of Sisterhood: Bristol Fashion traces the group’s 100-year history with pictures, anecdotes and some heavy-duty research. It’s available from www.redcliffepress. co.uk or by emailing sibristol@hotmail.co.uk
Community histories
If you’re looking for something to listen to while out for your daily jog/constitutional or commuting to your socially-distanced workplace, here’s an idea:
Local community radio station BCfm has just launched a series of local oral history podcasts which should be available for download by the time you read this. Made by BCfm presenter Marcus Smith in partnership with Bristol Museums, Bristol Archives, UWE Bristol and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, each of the 12 episodes focuses on a particular neighbourhood.
They are: Barton Hill, Knowle West, Lawrence Weston, Easton,
Amelia. Or Aretha, pictured atop City Hall a while ago
Fishponds, Hartcliffe, St George, Hillfields, Southmead, Eastville, Stockwood and Avonmouth.
The project is the result of over a year of training and recording with a mixed pool of more than 40 volunteers and students from across the city.
Speaking about the podcast Marcus Smith said: “There are stories of an old man in Hartcliffe who eats snails and calls them wall-fish, funny tales of a female rugby team based in Avonmouth, plus hip-hop from Knowle West and bee conservation in St George.
“Many of these areas are often overlooked or stigmatised. So we have created something to change perceptions and share unique local
THE Bristol Folk House is a century old this year, so we’re taking a look back at its rich history of adult education and community work, and folk music. Though it’s not called the Folk House because of folk
stories. This new podcast is for Bristolians, welcomed newcomers and future generations to come.”
12 Communities 1 Bristol are available on BCfm Radio, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and all mainstream podcast providers.
Bristol bombing
Further to Duncan Greenman’s article (see pages 2-3), there’ll be more to come in BT in the coming months as we mark the 80th anniversary of Bristol’s 1940-41 Blitz winter. Some readers will remember huge amounts of coverage in BT five years ago on the 75th anniversary, but we do have some new material and new stories to tell, including a shocking report we dug up in Bristol Archives a few years back.
Meanwhile, the 2017 BBC documentary series, Blitz: The Bombs that Changed Britain, which includes an episode covering the bombing of Bristol, is due to be reshown on BBC2, starting this evening, September 22.
Just Fab!
There can’t be many longstanding local residents who have not at
music – all will be explained! PLUS: The enigmatic and mysterious life, and Bristolian death and funeral, of an AfricanAmerican in 1920 who claimed to be the fattest woman in the world.
one time or another come across Fab 208, Bristol’s legendary 1970s/ Glam-Rock tribute band.
If you know where the ‘Fab 208’ name comes from then the chances are that you’ll well remember the sort of music they cover. Similarly you’ll know why the band member who got in touch with BT ended his email by signing off with the words “Shang a Lang”, which to anyone who was ever a Bay City Rollers fan is presumably the equivalent of the Star Trek fan’s “Live long and prosper”.
Not only is your correspondent old enuff to remember the popular music of the 1970s, but he is also of an age to recall the time when the members of Fab 208 were (almost) young enough to vaguely resemble the teenybop idols whose songs they were playing.
It’s possible, mind, that I might be getting them mixed up with another local Seventies tribute band who were big in the 1980s/ early 1990s, Terry Tinsel And The Spangle Boys (Or was it Boyz? Dunno. Whatever happened to them? Someone mail in and tell us. And send a picture.)
Anyway, Fab 208 have just brought out a book about the band’s 30-year history called Alan’s Story. I’ve not seen it, but we’re promised a humorous account of the band’s life and times, including meeting, and playing with some of their 1970s heroes including Roy Wood, Les McKeown (of the Rollers) and more.
There will be “Much fun, much laughter and a few tears – a must for Glam Rock enthusiasts, fans of the Bay City Rollers and anyone who has been in a band.”
You can find the book on Amazon at https://tinyurl.com/y2y36het or you can email the band direct for mail orders at fabulous208@ hotmail.com.
The print edition costs £9.99, with all proceeds going to Bath Cats & Dogs Home.
Keep up with the latest Fab 208 news on their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/FAB208info
Cheers then!