Random Stuff!

[TheLocalYokel]

Further to the previous post, there are reports today of unforgivable mischief-making in the pursuit of stirring racial strife.

There is a 'personality' called Susannah Reid who apparently co-presents a breakfast tv programme along with the controversial Piers Morgan. I understand that another regular member is Alex Beresford, a Bristolian, who presents the weather forecast on that breakfast programme as he does on occasion the local forecast on ITV Bristol.

Ms Reid apparently attended Bristol University in her younger days and also had a stint on BBC Radio Bristol although I can't remember her. It seems that yesterday morning Ms Reid was discussing with Messrs Beresford and Morgan the toppling of the Colston statue in Bristol.

At one point when recounting street names and other links with Bristol's slave trade Mr Beresford is reported to have said, "We also have, as you will know Susanna, you studied here at Bristol, Whiteladies Road and Blackboy Hill.” She replied that she recalled them from her time in the city and said ther 'skin crawled' at the thought.

Viewers apparently then contacted the tv station demanding that these streets be renamed.

This is an old chestnut and the claim of its association with the slave trade has been debunked many times in Bristol. Whiteladies Road gained its name from a convent in the area whose nuns wore white habits. There was also a later pub called the White Ladies Inn that probably took its name from the convent too.

Blackboy Hill derives from an old inn in the area called the Black Boy. Post-Restoration there were many inns around the country called the Black Boy, and many had pub signs bearing the face of Charles II whose countenance was dark and swarthy.

Neither has anything whatsoever to do with the slave trade or racism but it shows the level to which some people will descend in pursuit of a 'cause'.

As for renaming Blackboy Hill, it doesn't exist officially. It's the northern end of Whiteladies Road just before it meets Clifton and Durdham Downs, the huge areas of green space that stretch to the Avon Gorge. Local people have called that part of the road Blackboy Hill for probably centuries in the same way that there are unofficial names for sections of Wells Road and Gloucester Road out of Bristol - Red Lion Hill, George Hill, and Pigsty Hill with the first two also taking their names from nearby pubs.

 

[rollo]

Round here we have the black country so that is a challenge for "the mob" we also live not far from a little place called Wyre Piddle so maybe they could have a stab at that if they find themselves at a loose end.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Fears that warring mayors could lose government cash for Bristol

Marvin Rees did not attend meeting with his West of England counterparts

www.bristolpost.co.uk

The latest pathetic inter-authority squabbling in the Greater Bristol area. It has been thus for all my adult life that stetches back to the early 60s.

From 1974 until 1996 we had the manufactured county of Avon that consisted of Bristol, the southern part of original Gloucestershire and the northern part of original Somerset. Avon was a two-tier authority with six districts within it, of which Bristol was one; the city lost its county status (conferred in 1373) during the 22 years of Avon's existence. Avon was further complicated by the fact that some matters were its responsibility and others that of the districts, but Avon sub-contracted some of its own responsibilities to the districts making it impossible for most people to know who did what.

When Avon was disbanded the area was split into four unitary athorities: Bristol which had its county status restored; South Gloucestershire; North Somerset; Bath and North East Somerset, leaving Somerset proper and Gloucestershire proper 'emasculated' as they had been since 1974.

As was the case with Avon, but more so after it was disbanded, the local authorities within it constantly warred over most things to the detriment of the city region as a whole. One example was a tram system for which the then Labour Westminster Government had set aside funding. However, Bristol and South Gloucestershire could not agree where the northern terminus should be situated so the government in exasperation withdrew the allocated funding.

Three years ago a new West of England Combined Authority (Weca) came into being with an elected mayor. It was responsible for some matters in the former Avon area except that North Somerset unitary authority opted out.

The linked report suggests that the Labour elected mayor of Bristol is at odds with the Conservative elected mayor of Weca over Bristol's role in consultations and as a result there are fears that the city region might lose out when the post-Covid19 funding is doled out by the Westminster Government.

Superimposing another authority over a relatively small area of the country that was already dominated by one city authority was always going to be a recipe for yet more discord - I put it no more strongly than that although I easily could.

Until the early 1960s Bristol regularly saw its boundaries expanded into what was then Gloucestershire and Somerset as the contiguous urban sprawl burgeoned into those counties. Since then the Bristol boundary has remained constant but the contiguous urban sprawl has continued to push outwards unabated.The result is a city council population approaching 500,000 joined to another 'city' - mainly in the unitary authority of South Gloucestershire but with much smaller bits in the other two local authories as well - with a population of at least 200,000.

The obvious move would have been to expand Bristol's boundaries in order to recognise the extant physical 'city' with its circa 700,000 population (with a bit of leeway for further growth in the foresesable future) and either return the remainder of the former Avon area to Somerset and Gloucestershire respectively or create a new, separate authority for that part of the former Avon area outside the newly expanded Bristol.

In the lead-up to the major England local government reorganisation of 1996 that, inter alia, saw the demise of Avon, the then Conservative Government looked at expanding Bristol in the way I have described. They rejected it on purely party political grounds because they believed it would lead to a permanent Labour majority in the expanded city. When later elected (in 1997) Blair's Labour Government said they would return to the subject but they never did.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Bristol best UK city outside London to start a company

Bristol jumped 57 places to position 68 in the global rankings

www.bristolpost.co.uk

Might help with the inevitable post-pandemic recession.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Passenger ferries could be trialled between Bristol and Cardiff

The two vessels cost more than one million euros

www.bristolpost.co.uk

Hydrogen-powered water taxis to operate between Bristol and Cardiff. Hmm! A few years ago one of the ferries operating around the Bristol Harbourside was powered by hydrogen but after the trial the idea was taken no further.

The article also speaks of plans for building hydrogen-powered aircraft engines for airliners.

 

[superking]

The trial with this taxi round the harbour was i would think the engine had many problems to get the trial dropped and never seen again. If they the media say about trials with this engine in aeroplanes,what is different with the boat engine to the aircraft engine,unless its had bucket loads of money thrown at it or a problem the engine did not like water. Just the right project for Rolls Royce to get involved with and if they were involved with it im sure we would have seen some thing about it in the media some where.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

The trial with this taxi round the harbour was i would think the engine had many problems to get the trial dropped and never seen again. If they the media say about trials with this engine in aeroplanes,what is different with the boat engine to the aircraft engine,unless its had bucket loads of money thrown at it or a problem the engine did not like water. Just the right project for Rolls Royce to get involved with and if they were involved with it im sure we would have seen some thing about it in the media some where.

I found a BBC report about the hydrogen-powered boat initiative (for some reason the report can't be linked into this post). It was commissioned by the city council at a cost of £225,000 and, as you point out, after a six-month trial was then moored at the quayside. I hadn't realised it all happened six years ago - doesn't time fly by? It was only a 12-seater, smaller than the ferry boats that flit around the harbour.

There are two main ferry companies operating around the Harbourside plus a tour boat company and I was never sure how the hydrogen boat fitted in. The BBC report said it was run by a consortium of ferry boat operators and an energy company. The two ferry companies have their own separate timetables, and did then too, so for which company the hydrogen boat operated I don't know.

The spokesman for the consortium quoted in the BBC report runs Number Seven Boats, one of the two Harbourside ferry companies. He said the hydrogen boat would be 'viable' if there was a hydrogen station in place. Instead they had to rent a filling station for six months which cost them £59,000. He went on to say that they were converting the ferry to bottled gas and it would be running the following year (2015). It didn't.

On the face of things it was yet more wasted money by the city council but in terms of cost insignificant compared with the losses of the council-run Bristol Energy.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Leaked photos show Bristol Bears' new training facility in all its glory

Pat Lam's side enjoyed their first day of contact training at the site in Abbots Leigh

www.bristolpost.co.uk

Very impressive - according to reports one of the best rugby facilities in Europe. Steve Lansdown and his Bristol Sport are certainly going all out to establish Bristol Bears as a top European side.

Just down the road a new training facility is being built for Bristol City FC, another of the Bristol Sport assets, which includes a show pitch with a 400-seat grandstand which will be used by the club's youth teams for competitive matches.

Steve Lansdown found a world-class head coach (Pat Lam) for his rugby club. He now needs to find someone to take his football club to the next level.

 

[superking]

40 staff been reported are to be made redundant from the Western daily press and Bristol evening post. Have to check the posts a bit more from the airport. More than likely find holes in it as normal.

 

[superking]

18 staff from the bus company are being redeployed on to first in Bristol and Weston Super Mare. They operate services from Bristol and Weston Super mare to the airport,but with fewer passengers fewer busses will be required.. Least its good news that jobs have been found with these drivers.

 

[superking]

The true figure for redundant drivers will be up to 70. The A3 service will be suspended till further notice and alterations to other services. It also affects drivers doing internal work as well..But as i said the good news they will be moved to Bristol and Weston to operate services.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

40 staff been reported are to be made redundant from the Western daily press and Bristol evening post. Have to check the posts a bit more from the airport. More than likely find holes in it as normal.

The Bristol Post began going downhill years ago when it ceased to be produced locally and became part of a national newspaper chain. The editor has already gone.

I don't like seeing anyone lose their job but as far as the former editor is concerned I'll just say that I frequently disagreed with his editorial decisions. I could put my criticism of him in a much stronger form but there is no point now that he has left.

18 staff from the bus company are being redeployed on to first in Bristol and Weston Super Mare. They operate services from Bristol and Weston Super mare to the airport,but with fewer passengers fewer busses will be required.. Least its good news that jobs have been found with these drivers.

The true figure for redundant drivers will be up to 70. The A3 service will be suspended till further notice and alterations to other services. It also affects drivers doing internal work as well..But as i said the good news they will be moved to Bristol and Weston to operate services.

The Flyer drivers (A1 and A3) are employed by First West of England, even though the route is airport-operated but by First West of England under contract. It also seems that some of the drivers of the airport car park buses, who I presume are employed by the airport, are being taken on by First until next March.

As First is always short of drivers for its local network this move will help all sides. Many bus routes in Bristol seem back to their usual frequency. In fact, some including the route that serves the area where I live have an increased frequency compared with pre-COVID. They are though operating with much reduced capacity because of the virus with many seats blanked off. I believe they are only offering 25% of normal seating capacity.

The A1 and A3 are due to return in January and in the meantime the First-operated A2 will route via Temple Meads station on its journey between the airport and Bristol central area.

Seeing the number of flights that are restarting at BRS I will be surprised if a half-hourly A2, especially one with reduced seating capacity, will cope with the demand from/to Temple Meads. It's also well used by shoppers living in south Bristol so could see all its seats taken by the time it reaches Temple Meads on its journey to the airport. Like the A1 it's a double-decker but the A1 ran at a 6/7 journeys per hour frequency in both directions.

Airport press release.

Bus driver jobs saved in deal between Bristol Airport and First West of England

Bus driver jobs have been protected following talks between Bristol Airport and First West of England. This comes as airport bus services are reduced due to a significant drop in demand for air travel, during the coronavirus outbreak.

www.bristolairport.co.uk

 

[superking]

In and around weston i have not seen a single decker for weeks. I will have to pay more attention at the names on the double deckers as they seem to be doing all routes. As i remember there is names on a lot of these double deckers i have not seen brfore. As far as i can tell they have many seats blocked off so more or less single decker loads.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

In and around weston i have not seen a single decker for weeks. I will have to pay more attention at the names on the double deckers as they seem to be doing all routes. As i remember there is names on a lot of these double deckers i have not seen brfore. As far as i can tell they have many seats blocked off so more or less single decker loads.

First West of England's Weston double-deckers were mainly decked out in the old Badgerline green and yellow livery. Since the lockdown began at the end of March I've not been to Weston or to the centre of Bristol for that matter, even though restrictions have since eased.

Unlike Bristol where most of the buses are painted in various route specific liveries, or groups of routes, First at Weston seems to have shied away from that idea, unless they have altered their policy since I was last there.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Plans for cable cars between Temple Meads and Suspension Bridge

Stops would include Ashton Gate, Wapping Wharf, the Harbourside and Western Harbour

www.bristolpost.co.uk

I'm not at all sure that this will ever get off the ground - literally! The idea is for a series of cable car routes between Temple Meads and Clifton Suspension Bridge and other destinations around the central area. They would be marketed at both tourists and others as an alternative to bus or taxi travel.

I wonder about the market research when one of the proponents suggests that the Old City is a financial area. It used to be but these days most of the former banks and other financial institutions have moved out leaving the buildings as pubs, clubs, restaurants, hotels and other leisure outlets.

The city council is not interested but is not averse to the developers applying for planning permission as long as they use their own money.

It's not completely a crackpot idea because Columbia's second largest city, Medellin, has a network of such urban cable car routes.

Metrocable (Medellín) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

When my wife and I were in Sydney some years ago there was a monorail system around parts of the central area. It was dismantled shortly afterwards which makes one wonder if innovative 'non-standard' city transport schemes really are more effective than traditional ones. Sydney woud suggest no but Medellin possibly yes, at least as a complementary network.

 

[superking]

Good morning. You about early today. Hope all is well with you and the good lady. Take care.

 

[Scottie Dog]

That's kind of you to ask and the answer is yes. I reciprocate the question although i dont classify 8.24 as being early.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Good morning. You about early today. Hope all is well with you and the good lady. Take care.

We're well thank you. I hope the same applies with you.

I have a bit of a routine first thing in the morning and don't usually go online until later. That said, unless I'm off somewhere I don't get up that early.

I've always been an 'evening person' whereas my wife is a 'morning person'. I'd rather go to bed at 1am and get up at 9am than go to bed at 11pm and get up at 7am, not that I ever sleep for eight hours. I wish I could.

 

[superking]

Im an early bird. Dont lie late nihts unless it cant be helped.My coment to TLY was you up ealy and it took e by suprise,as he is very rarely on that time of day as he explained. I do suffer with arthritus through the whole body so some days better than others..It depends what the weather is doing to how the body reacts to it. Nice to know you keeping well that way scottie dog,hope it stays that way.Take care and stay safe to all on these forums.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Del Boy's back!

I'm not a big tv fan and don't watch much but for some reason I must have begun watching Fools and Horses in the 1980s and became hooked. I still chortle at bits of it on YouTube especially the marvellous late Roger Lloyd Pack as Trigger.

John Sullivan, also sadly no longer with us, was an incredibly gifted and funny writer and the cast and director interpreted his thoughts perfectly. Trigger's everlasting broom, DelBoy falling though the bar counter and the Batman and Robin sequence must still rate as some of the funniest scenes shown on British tv.

Del Boy street art has appeared opposite flats used in Only Fools

The Only Fools and Horses star is depicted taking advantage of the coronavirus face mask law

www.bristolpost.co.uk