Features / Lockdown 2.0 Diaries
Lockdown 2.0 diaries: BS3 – Bedminster, Southville and Ashton Gate
A tantalising scent wafts from the orange van at the top of Victoria Park as the owner prepares to open the shutter on Tuesday morning.
With a menu of takeaway toasties and hot drinks, the converted vintage vehicle is well-placed to cater to the bustling BS3 neighbourhood as people working from home join the ever-diverse daily crowd making the most of the open space with its orange-leafed trees.
Joggers run laps up and down the punishing hill and dog walkers attempt socially distanced conversations while restraining their overly amorous pets. “Sam. Sam. Wait,” calls one man in vain, striding across the grass as his dog trots determinedly in the opposite direction.
is needed now More than ever
Down on the path, a collision is narrowly avoided between a middle-aged man cruising by on his electric skateboard and a careering canine ball of fur in fell pelt, ears flying out behind.
Joggers and dog walkers make the most of an autumnal Victoria Park during lockdown
‘Have you shared a smile today?’
Opposite the orange food van, someone has been spreading positivity during lockdown in the form of a laminated note stuck to the gate of the playground that reads: ‘Have you shared a smile yet today?’.
Shouts and screams of children playing in the playground of St Mary Redcliffe Primary School ring out across the park and it’s all too easy to forget the reality of the current situation.
Down the hill at Windmill Hill City Farm, the gates are open and a couple of welly-clad toddlers are leading the way into the yard. The farmyard and garden are remaining open throughout lockdown, with takeaway available from the farm shop and café. On the fence, another message of positivity – this time embroidered and tagged with @theartkindness – reads ‘looking lovely today’.
On East Street, the shuttered shop windows are a stark reminder of the toll the latest measures are having on many businesses. The smell of baked goods drifts down the street from the Bristol Loaf’s corner premises, but there none of the usual queues backing up the pavement waiting patiently for a table as it’s takeaway goods only for now.
Further up, two elderly ladies wearing masks have parked up their shopping trolleys and stopped to put the world to rights outside the Vintage Revival shop, which is currently closed due to lockdown restrictions.
It’s business as usual though for many of the shops selling essentials and a queue is building outside the Post Office by 10.30am.
Christmas trees are already for sale at East Street Fruit Market
“Two punnets for £1.50 on your raspberries,” the familiar voice of Darren Jones from East Street Fruit Market booms out across the street.
“Your large bags of red peppers just 99 pence a bag. Come on then folks.”
West Street is a quiet contrast at this time in the morning, aside from the steady flow of traffic passing through. Outside the Black Cat, a small team is hard at work making the most of the enforced closure to repaint the pub’s exterior.
Heading back down towards North Street, the pubs on Cannon Street may be closed but there’s still plenty going on. Here, just a few doors down from Bedminster Pharmacy, an awning is being hung above a brand new independent bike shop, Friction Cycles – the ‘let agreed’ sign still hanging above the new shop frontage.
Shoppers turn out for essential goods and takeaways on North Street
North Street is missing its usual bustle but there are still plenty of shoppers out buying their groceries and a queue is starting to form outside Parsons Bakery, where two men in work boots are making the most of the autumn sun and enjoying a sandwich on the kerbside.
Hoppers Coffee doing a roaring trade in Greville Smyth Park
An almost deserted Ashton Gate is a far cry from match days when, during normal times, the streets would be filled with Bristol City supporters clad in their red and white scarves. The stadium might be standing quiet and empty, but Greville Smyth Park opposite is full of life as people of all ages make the most of the morning sun.
Hopper Coffee is doing a roaring trade by 11.15am and a small queue has formed by the three-wheeled kart – proof that even during lockdown, there’s no stopping people in Bristol getting their morning caffeine hit.
Read more: Lockdown 2.0 Diaries: BS2 – St Paul’s St Werburgh’s and Avonmeads
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