People / My Bristol Favourites
My Bristol Favourites: Jamie Pike
Jamie Pike is the founder of Coexist, a social enterprise that currently runs Hamilton House on Stokes Croft. On Sunday, he is hosting a talk at the Tobacco Factory as part of the Economics of Happiness Conference on how local businesses can support each other and enrich their local communities.
Here are Jamie’s top-five Bristol favourites:
Strawberry Hill
is needed now More than ever
“When I first moved to Bristol I lived in St Werburgh’s and always loved to run up Strawberry Hill at dawn and watch the city murmuring in the morning mist. There’s something liberating about bits of wild unkempt common land amidst the patchwork of houses, industry and allotments. A little bit of freedom among the concrete streets. Having a view over the city always helped to keep things in perspective.”
Ashton Court
“My favourite spot is a little clearing up by the giant sequoia trees on the golf course. At night Bristol twinkles quietly below and you can feel the whole of the south west reaching out before you. I’m sure you’re not meant to have fires but some people do.”
The Invisible Circus and Artspace Lifespace
“What absolute legends! I first saw an Invisible Circus show when they took over Bridewell. It was a masterstroke. An anarchic community circus being played out in one of Bristol’s most historic places of law and order. These guys have been playfully challenging the status quo with a raw and beautiful array of incredible shows for over a decade, reminding us all to wake up to the absurdity of the systems we live in. Now they have a residency at Ashton Court Mansion I cant wait to see what delights will be served up. Maybe City Hall is next!”
Bristol Bike Project
“There is something profound and brilliant about about this social enterprise. Apart from having up-cycled thousands of unwanted bikes, the awesome Bristol Bike Project also provides the an amazing bike skills training service to hundreds of Bristol’s most disadvantaged people. These guys are amazing and just one part of the incredible work that happens at Hamilton House.”
All of the independent bits
“I feel like Bristol is going through a commercial takeover at the moment. Many of the spaces and places for independent thinking are rapidly being commercialised. As a co-founder of Hamilton House, I have been witnessing this first-hand as the rising rents and property values drive developers to turn over so many of the former work spaces into residential buildings. If we love Bristol’s subversive creative edge then we need to be sure that we look after our independent spaces for creativity and culture. Someone had it right when they said, make Bristol shit again!”
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