A year of Bristolian culture: Lorna Robinson’s alphabetic adventures

Bristol24/7 reader Lorna Robinson decided to make the year she turned 50 one to remember by setting herself a cultural challenge: to visit somewhere or see something related to the creative arts in Bristol for every letter of the alphabet. This included films, plays, live music and art exhibitions all over the city, many of which were inspired by the culture pages of Bristol24/7.

Below are abridged highlights of her year – and we’re happy to report that she completed her challenge. Read the full account of Lorna’s adventures on her blog: www.thoughtscreative.wordpress.com.

A – Arnolfini

A thought-provoking exhibition by Basim Magdy: The Stars Were Aligned For A Century Of New Beginnings. I need to go back.

B – BlahBlahBlah

A pre-Valentine’s night special, Love vs Cynicism, hosted by BlahBlahBlah at the Wardrobe Theatre. Love won the day. Of course.

C – Central Library

An interactive exhibition at Bristol Central Library caught my eyes… and ears… and legs… It Must Have Been Dark By Then.  It was certainly different and thought-provoking and I shall look out for other projects by Ambient Literature.

D – Dance centre

I’m still joyfully numb from a production of The Ice Road at Jacob’s Wells Dance Centre (as was). Telling the tale of a family imprisoned in Leningrad during the siege. We stumbled out into the dark of a Bristol night, sobbing.

E – Everyman Cinema

Manchester by the Sea at the Everyman Cinema – my first visit to this beautifully renovated picture palace. The pre-screening cocktails were served in the spacious bar area; the seats for the film were wide and comfy and the film was great.

F – Frondescence

The name Frondescence intrigued me. It was the title of an exhibition of art at the Christmas Steps Gallery, featuring the work of three artists who work from Hamilton House. The work of the three celebrated the natural world – water, mountains, forests. It was a lovely place to spend the rare treat of a lunch hour.

G – Great Hall

Wow! The Moon glowed in the Great Hall of the Wills Memorial Building, suspended between the broad oak beams and softly lit in blue to celebrate the inauguration of the University of Bristol’s new chancellor, Sir Paul Nurse.

H – Henbury Hill Gate

Feeling brave, bold and intrepid, we set off from Henbury Hill Gate on a daring Carriage Drive to the Castle Perilous – a guided walk through the lovely Blaise Castle Estate, led by Tim Mowls, that recreated the drive that Catherine Morland was so looking forward to in Northanger Abbey but never experienced.

I – The Island

The Island is now the base for numerous artists, each of whom has a workspace-cum-gallery branching off one of the corridors where police and public once mingled.

J – Jamaica Street

On my way down to Broadmead for a bit of Christmas shopping, I passed through Jamaica Street – Buy or Burgle It – an arresting concept!

K – Kingsdown Parade

Reason #193 to live in Bristol: your neighbours make works of art out of street furniture. This appeared recently in Kingsdown Parade – a lighthouse with wheeling gulls. Art on my doorstep.

L – Lanterns

My sister Sarah and I went to the Bedminster Winter Lantern Parade, which was beautiful. For me, the best part was seeing the streams of primary school children passing by, each with a lantern reflecting their school’s theme.

M – Museum and Art Gallery

I went to a small-but-beautiful exhibition in Gallery II of the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery. It featured the work of Adela Breton, a remarkable Victorian woman who travelled to Mexico and recorded in life-sized water-colour the paintings on the walls of Mayan temples that were just then being rediscovered.

N – North Bristol Arts Trail

Despite this event being on my radar for years, I had never actually made it to the North Bristol Arts Trail. This year I set off on my bike, determined to see as many venues as possible. I didn’t get very far… I got stuck for too long looking at Jane Boot’s beautiful watercolours.

O – Bristol Old Vic

I squeezed in several performances, including Junkyard, The Winter’s Tale, Medea and The Caretaker.

P – St. Peter’s Church

St Peter’s Church, Castle Park, stood grey and calm in the autumn light when I visited. It was bombed in the Blitz and now stands as a memorial to those killed in World War II. Nearby trees were turning ocre-yellow-gold, the colours echoing the flashes of bronze in the stone.

Q – Queen’s Square.

On my way back from a school visit I paused in Queen’s Square. I cycle through there regularly – and almost invariably without stopping to look at the giant piece of public sculpture that occupies the very middle. This time I did stop.

R – Red Lodge

I went with my friend Anne to the Red Lodge, a Tudor home in the centre of Bristol. It is right next door to Trenchard Street Car Park – one of the ugliest car parks known to man? – and this serves to accentuate the sheer fabulousness of the museum.

S – Spike Island

I’m embarrassed to say that I’ve been in Bristol for over 30 years but have never before been to Spike Island. I remedied that today. There were two artists in the large exhibition spaces, Giles Round and Andrea Luka Zimmerman, and the gooseberry fizz in the cafe is great.

T – Tobacco Factory Theatres

Othello and Tartuffe  were predictably great, both performed by the definitive Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory company. The up-to-date translation of Tartuffe, focusing on a Tory politician and his guru, was fantastically apt.

U – Upfest

Sadly I was out of town for Upfest itself, but remedied the situation by going along a few nights later to see the fantastic art that had grown across Bedminster through this graffiti festival – the largest of its kind in Europe. I think that the images were  perhaps even more striking like that, viewed in the evening and alone.

V – The Vestibules

One of the vestibules at City Hall was the setting for perhaps one of the most worthwhile exhibitions in this alphabet. My colleague, Helen Manchester, and her team had transformed the space into a parlour of wonder to share and promote her research project, Tangible Memories. The project encourages senior citizens to recount their memories to school children, a wonderful blend of old and young that engages new generations in the rich stories that the elderly have to tell.

W – Watershed

I saw A Monster Calls at the beautiful Watershed. Based in former warehouses on the banks of the docks, it has been a creative hub since 1982.

X – X marks the spot

X marks the spot on the ceiling at a production of The Tempest at St John on the Wall’s Crypt, performed by the Insane Root Theatre Company. (Was anyone ever going to get a real ‘X’ in an undertaking like this one?)

Y – YHA youth hostel

I concluded the year with a coffee at the youth hostel on Narrow Quay. The building itself is a converted grain warehouse, with modern steel and original exposed brick making it a warm and welcoming place.

Z – Zumba

Aha, you thought I’d have Bristol Zoological Gardens down for this one, didn’t you? But I’ve been there many times before (although, I concede, not since the children were small). So, to conclude my alphabet, I went to a zumba class at Fairfield School – a real ‘first’ for me.

Read more: Juggling from A to Z