Bristol24/7’s most-read stories of 2021

Among riots, elections and trials, it is a boat sinking, a boarded up Banksy and a noisy boozer that top the chart of Bristol24/7’s most-read stories of 2021.

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Here are the most-read stories on bristol247.com in 2021:

1. Historic boat sinks in early hours of morning

One of the most historic and popular boats in Bristol’s docks sunk in the early hours of a Tuesday morning. Greenshank – owned by the Bristol Packet and operating as a cafe – had a “catastrophic failure” at around 3am on June 15, causing her to sink and pull a neighbouring barge down with her.

2. Banksy’s Totterdown mural boarded up

Aachoo was hidden from view on the steepest residential street in the UK – photo: Martin Booth

A famous advert for Fry’s chocolate, once made in their sprawling factory on Union Street in Bristol city centre, featured a boy in five stages: desperation, pacification, expectation, acclamation, realisation: it’s Fry’s. The appearance of a new Banksy mural has a similar number of stages: appearance, questioning, confirmation, covering, removal. Aachoo! appeared on Vale Street in Totterdown in December 2020. It was first covered in perspex and then boarded up, before being removed by a crane in March.

3. Pub has licence revoked following complaints from residents and police

A pub that caused residents “absolute sheer terror and horror” has had its licence revoked by councillors – photo: Ellie Pipe

The Bull Inn in Crews Hole was shut down at the request of Bristol City Council’s neighbourhood enforcement team in August, backed by the police who say officers spend a disproportionate amount of time there dealing with disorder, nuisance and reports of mass brawls and threats to cut throats. Some neighbours have even moved house to get away from the 118-year-old pub, while many who remain no longer approached the manager for fear of reprisals and verbal abuse, the city council licensing sub-committee heard.

4. These are the 12 most expensive roads in Bristol

The average prices of homes on Grange Park in Henleaze over the last decade is more than £1.5m – photo: Martin Booth

The most expensive roads to live on in Bristol were revealed in February, with properties selling on each street for an average of almost £1.5m in the last decade. The research looked at house prices between 2010 and 2020, with Clifton officially the area of the city with the most expensive houses. Four roads in BS8 are included in the top-12, with other areas in the list including Henleaze, Failand and Frenchay.

5. Rogue yellow lines painted by residents fed up with inconsiderate parking

The direct action was taken by members of the Bishopston and St Andrew’s Traffic and Parking Group (BOSA) – photo: Paul Bullivant

Frustrated residents took to street corners in April to provide double yellow lines where none exist. Campaigners also placed yellow lines over vehicles parked illegally, claiming that traffic and parking is largely unregulated and rarely enforced. “The result is a daily, unsafe and unpleasant assault course for pedestrians and cyclists”, residents say.

6. ‘History is made’ as Bristol passes slavery reparations motion

Colston’s plinth remains empty after the statue of the slave trader was toppled during a Black Lives Matter march in 2020 – photo: Martin Booth

It was hailed a moment of international significance in March, but Bristol’s call for reparatory justice was also the first milestone in an ongoing journey. The motion passed at an extraordinary council meeting galvanised support for a reparations and atonement plan, led by grassroots organisations, to address the city’s role in the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans and its enduring impact. Bristol also called for the government to set up an all-party parliamentary commission of inquiry to look at how reparations might be delivered.

7. House owned by ex-Bristol journalist Terry Pratchett up for sale

Terry Pratchett’s former home dates back to the 18th century with later additions – photo: RightMove

A house formerly occupied by fantasy author Sir Terry Pratchett went on the market in January. Sir Terry had strong ties to Bristol. He worked as journalist on the Western Daily Press in the 1970s, and was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Bristol in 2004. The four-bedroom cottage for sale is located in the Mendip hills, in the small village of Rowberrow. It has two sitting rooms and a generous garden, and dates back to the 18th century.

8. Bristol Zoo reveal more details of what will happen to Clifton site

Bristol Zoo is the world’s oldest zoo outside a capital city – photo: OurWorld Bristol

The debate about the future of Bristol Zoo’s historic Clifton site has not been far away from the pages of Bristol24/7 this year. In March, Bristol Zoo revealed that the zoo’s main entrance would become an “urban conservation hub” telling the heritage and story of the site in an exhibition. But in November, zoo bosses said that their plans to build 235 new homes on the 12-acre grounds will include free public access to the gardens.

9. Alex Beresford calls out Piers Morgan causing him to storm off set

Piers Morgan stormed off the Good Morning Britain set on a Tuesday in March after Alex Beresford said that his behaviour towards the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has been “diabolical”. Following an interview with Oprah Winfrey in which Prince Harry said racism from the tabloid press that filtered into the rest of society was a “large part” of why he and his wife left the UK, Morgan defended both the media and the royal family. Beresford, who grew up and still lives in Bristol, said that the royal couple had “had an overwhelming amount of negative press”. He said that Morgan “doesn’t like Meghan Markle” which he had “made clear a number of times”. Morgan said that he used to talk to Meghan before she “dropped him” once she started dating Harry. Beresford told him: “She’s entitled to cut you off if she wants to.” Morgan then stormed off set as Beresford called his actions “diabolical behaviour”.

10. 30 years since Massive Attack’s ‘Unfinished Sympathy’

On February 11 1991, a bunch of “lazy Bristol twats” (in the words of Daddy G) released the record that would come to define them. The track, written by Massive Attack’s Daddy G, 3D and Mushroom with vocalist Shara Nelson and producer Jonny Dollar, was recorded in the Coach House Studio on Richmond Hill Avenue in Clifton, with the strings orchestrated by Wil Malone later added at a recording session in London’s famous Abbey Road Studios. The orchestra did not come cheap, however, and the band went so overbudget that they had to to sell their car in order to pay for those strings.

11. Multiple people stabbed after fight outside Clifton nightclub

At least four men were stabbed in Clifton following a Halloween party, with nine arrests made. Police forensics teams were at the scene on Queen’s Avenue near the Triangle on October 31, with a cordon in place centred around Pam Pam – a nightclub within a building owned by the University of Bristol.

12. YoBikes no longer available for hire in Bristol

The YoBike scheme encountered an unfortunate amount of theft and vandalism – photo: Martin Booth

2021 was the year that Bristol’s first attempt at a dockless bike hire scheme departed from city streets (although there are a few stragglers that can still be spotted around the place). In March, YoBike quietly pulled the plug on their operations. Next year will see another attempt at a dockless bike hire scheme, with electric bikes this time.

13. ‘I calmly told police I was a journalist, but they said they didn’t believe me’

Bristol24/7 Editor Martin Booth was detained by police at around 2am on March 24 while reporting on the latest ‘kill the bill’ protest, which had seen police break up a peaceful protest on College Green. He later received an apology from Avon & Somerset Constabulary.

14. Interview with Max Lahiff at Ashton Gate goes viral

The interview with Bristol Bears prop Max Lahiff and Tom Tainton has now been watched 2.7m times since being uploaded to Twitter as part of the pre-match coverage ahead of Wasps’ visit to Ashton Gate in March. Lahiff was already a cult hero in Bristol and is now a cult hero for rugby fans across the world.

15. New map connects parks and open spaces in and around Bristol

The Greenground Map goes as far west as Portishead, as far north as Wild Place Project, as far east as Wick and as far south as Dundry – map by Helen Ilus

A new map inspired by Harry Beck’s famous map of the London Underground features ten ‘lines’ and some 250 green places to explore across Bristol. The ‘Greenground Map’ by graphic designer Helen Ilus aims to connect the city’s parks and open spaces to inspire walks, runs and bike rides. Helen lives in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, but graduated from UWE Bristol with a degree in animation. The map of Bristol is her third Greenground Map following versions of London and Edinburgh.

Main photo: Martin Booth

Read more: Bristol in 2021: the year in news

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