WOOO!!

http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/heathermckay

Yep. I'm going to give something back by running 5k for the brilliant Cancer Research UK.

Like most people, I have a personal history with cancer, having lost a particularly wonderful grandmother to it when I was a lot younger. I'm sure that won't be the only time in my life that we meet, either.

So, as I wanted to physically challenge myself this year (inspired by Eddie Izzard) - to hurl myself out of my comfort zone, shape up, feel the burn of a real challenge - I've settled on this.

My run will be on Sunday June 6th around the Bath University campus. For some people, 5k is easy - for me, well, I can hardly run for the bus.

As far as I'm concerned, a PB is a trashy handbag covered in cheap patches.

I've realised I need to buy
1) A pair of good quality running shoes
2) A decent sports bra
3) Some sort of neon lycra ensemble.... what?

I'm hoping that as I've now put the word out it's too late to go back. I just filled in the form in a mad half-hour spurt of madness and as soon as I get my first donation, I'll realise that this is actually happening.

Good! Bring it on! I'm going to be pestering my fitness-mad brother for a training regime, and after I've hoofed my one and only Easter egg, that'll be it.

Now it's just going to be about spreading the word...

Wish me luck!

x Hev

Announcement!

Some great news for popdock, which is that I now have a weekly column over at Bristol24-7, a wicked comprehensive local site that covers everything from fireworks displays to football and all in between.

My column is under 'Bristol Life' - and that's only a tiny part of the site! It's full of anything you could want to know about this city, and wants readers to get involved too. There's plenty of opportunity to make your own voice heard through comments and message boards, and that's just as important for keeping this city the way we like it!

Sorry I've been a little quiet on the posting front, but next week is gonna be such a goodun - Hot Chip, Will Self and, hopefully, Los Campesinos! Not to mention the usual musings, and the guys from Gimme Shelter vintage...

Stay tuned!!

snortin' and cavortin': Skins Party 29/01

Yes, the great teenage trainwreck Skins is back on our screens for a fourth series, still 'shocking' us with lewd images of immaculately-voiced shop mannequins taking drugs and being all cool and shit. Don't get me wrong, especially considering the location-bumming nature of the last post, it's great to see programmes set in Bristol, but I've just never got Skins.

Perhaps all these ridiculously beautiful youngsters a-snortin' and cavortin' makes me feel distinctly un-rock'n'roll and a bit old into the bargain, but the dialogue is clunky and the acting is awful. The whole pretentious thing isn't a gritty exploration of a dark, misunderstood young underworld, it's Channel 4's big suits trying to prove how edgy and ker-azy they still are by broadcasting a bit of coked-up nubile tit. (Can you tell I've been reading a lot of Charlie Brooker lately?)

So, it was with two minds that I approached the transparent-PR-athon of the Skins House project at the Old Fire Station. On the one hand, it's great to see emerging talent that's a little under the radar come to Bristol - Ou est le Swimming Pool, Two Door Cinema Club, Man Like Me, Chew Lips and various DJs - have, over the last two weeks, all been under the same roof and for great value, with tickets only at a measly quid.

On the other hand, the great unquashable cynic inside me was predicting crowds of gurning little shits, Nathan Barley-esque fashion horrors and an actual altar at which to worship Effy, Cook and 'the crew' before sacrificing yourself to the god of trashy television.

Friday saw Monkey!Knife!Fight! take residence, with the likes of Turbowolf, Man Like Me, Crystal Fighters and Pulled Apart By Horses gracing the subtly branded main stage, above and below, whilst DJ sets from Shitmat and Scotch Egg kept things ticking over nicely in the upstairs room.

A line-up like this can't really be sniffed at, and, musically, there was something for everyone. The dancefloors were full with a crowd that was noisy without being rowdy. (I didn't really get the chance to take that many photos, as it was quite busy and I was quite pissed, so here's the lovely sign again, from a slightly different angle.)

Big Jeff was there somewhere, and if it's alright for Big Jeff, then it's alright for me. The venue itself is wicked (the great red building sat just before Broadmead) with a spacious but not cavernous interior, and there are different rooms on different levels to stop you getting bored. Get rid of the wanky tv tag and it'd be perfect.

Thankfully the focus was on the music - there were no meet'n'greet autograph booths or 'special appearances' - which was enough to pull in all types of post-teenagers not necessarily willing to gobble down any old E4 bullshit poured down their awaiting throats, but make up their own minds about new and interesting music and a venue with atmosphere. (There were some sartorial 'attention seekers', it must be said, particularly an outfit Rupert the Bear's dad would have really dug and a girl with a cassette tape strapped to her head. Not making it up...)

Anyway, I just hope this isn't the future of live music - that we'll need to rely on multi-million pound corporations with their own agenda to provide these events - because then there'll be too much competition for normal people to get any sort of new and innovative ball rolling.

Maybe I'm taking it too seriously. Checking out new places and dancing to music and dressing up is good, and if there's a chance you can get on some cool tv show, then even better. Or whatever.

Ooo-ooooh-arrrr...

It's been one thing and another, which has meant I haven't been updating ye olde popdock as regularly as I should... but, here I am again and ready to post, post, post!

We've seen shed-loads of snow (where hasn't?) and are back to the now nicely comforting January drizzle. Never thought I'd be relieved to see it again, but oh, to be able to walk the Avon tarmac normally once more. Well, without extreme ice-trepidation. Normally for me.

Anyway, there's nothing better on the dark nights than to curl up with a good hot chocolate and get some supernatural telly thrills. And I'm not talking Hollywood-glam-vamp-camp-chic (or 'Pattinswoon', as one teen mag tagged him) but a vampire/werewolf/ghost story filmed on our very own doorsteps- in some cases quite literally.


Yes, the wicked Being Human is back on BBC Three for it's second series, and aside from all the flatmate jokes, Russel Tovey and the way the plot is building up a treat - which I'd love no matter where it was set, it's been extra fun spotting all the Bristol locations. It's a wierd feeling, but all of a sudden you realise that park or florists is on one of your regular routes, and it makes it strangely real. I know, it's full of each and every supernatural freak, but seeing it happening in your very familiar home city balances it out, and it's somehow quite believable.

I've been shouting things like "I walk along that bridge in the background everyday!" (sad) and I'm sure London folk get that feeling every day when they watch anything set in Britain, but it' s great to see acknowledgement of other beautiful British cities, and to have some quality programming coming out of the West country. Something not about cider or tractors.

It didn't have to be set in Brizzle. But it is. So, cheers Beebster, and let's have some more!

Right, excuse the dodgy screen shots... brownie points if you get them all!

...Well, they couldn't leave the suspension bridge out, could they?

x

(copyright all images BBC)

York Cafe

I'm not going to lie to you. Bristol is a city, and therefore does have its fair share of the homogenised predictable bull, the corporate money-spinners and the tired and tested. There are the international fast food holes and cheap chain stores. They're always going to be there, they're in every city, so you just ignore them.

But when you come across a hidden gem that's actually owned and run by local people who can give you good quality produce, you remember it doesn't have to be like that, and a city like Briz is big and clever enough to keep itself interesting.

Such is breakfast's best-kept secret: York cafe. Quiet and unassuming from the outside, this award-winning haven of builders and students is a British soap opera writer's dream - red Formica tables, a huge neon clock and the best fry-ups for miles around - and a personal favourite of mine. The lovely staff have got me through many a hungover lunch break with quick service and delicious grub.

It's never going to win Heston Blumenthal's prize for innovation, and describe themselves as 'trapped in a time warp around 1960-something', but they do all the classics from morning porridge to Shepherd's pie, mostly under a fiver.

Nestled just behind Broadmead on Bond Street - just around a bit further from the McDonald's on the corner - York 's moved from a place in Clifton two years ago, establishing loyalty with the Cabot builders, and now the Cabot staff! Not to mention the halls nearby, various department stores and so on.

I was in today enjoying a veggie bap and looking out at the snow, and nearly hit myself on the forehead for not thinking to mention them on here sooner. Hooray for the greasy spoon!!

It's been snowing!!!!

Bristol looked so lush in the snow last night! Sadly I didn't have any photo-taking capabilities a we wandered down Gloucester Road enjoying that weirdly blanket-like silence and peace that comes with the great white stuff, but much christmas-y merriment was had singing the pogues and the snowman theme tune.


In fact, at one point just by the Arches we turned and looked at a beautiful little side street undisturbed by human feet except for a couple kissing underneath a Victorian-style lamp post. SO LUSH!

x*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*x

much in the way of sniffles

Sorry! I've been pretty out of it with the stupid bug that's going around, so haven't done much worthy of blogging.

In the meantime, you can check out the Bristol Jam , the first festival in the whole of the U.K solely dedicated to improvisation - music, comedy, arts - you name it, they'll be making it up on the spot.

The new directors of the Old Vic Tom Morris and Emma Stenning came up with the idea, and enlisted a multitude of performers from beatboxer Beardyman to female clown Angela de Castro to start the party.
They said the festival is: "A tiny riot of improvised performance in some of the art forms which flourish across Bristol. There will be drama, music, dance, games, jazz, film, beatbox and other things which as yet have no name..."

Keep your eyes peeled until the 24th for some spontaneous fun around the city and at the theatre, and maybe even unleash the improviser locked deep within...



xx p.d

Mud Dock

09/10/09


Following a late shift that really dragged on, (and the fact that it's payday) we decided to go for something to eat on the way home, and Mud Dock seemed like the obvious choice for a mention here on popdock. (Good old Bristolians knowing their industrial heritage so well...)


I've never dined there before, but been past countless times over the years and thought, 'I must check that place out one day...'


Needing some tasty grub after a hard day, and feeling the first nip of the season, I had high hopes, but still wasn't expecting to be so thoroughly impressed. A great selection of modern dishes with just the right combination of luxury and heartiness (and good veggie options), Mud Dock just ticked all the boxes.

Really friendly staff, gorgeous foodgasm-inducing grub, candles and soft music gave the place a chilled out vibe, and prices weren't extortionate either. Most mains were just under £10 each, and we were just too late to be part of a 2-for-£10 offer (Mon-Fri, 5pm-9pm).




As if all that wasn't enough, Mud Dock are not just a restaurant as I had ignorantly presumed... get this - on the ground floor, below the restaurant, there's also a bicycle shop! Operated side-by-side to enhance the owner's two favourite things - dining and cycling, Mud Dock emphasises the benefits of bikes- for your health and the environment, and are especially proud of Bristol's unofficial cycling city status.

Can you imagine Halford's even giving you a cup of tea? Strung from the ceiling was an incredible collection of antique, vintage and valuable bikes - from penny farthings to bmx's - according to our waitress, part of the owner's considerable private collection. During opening hours the bike shop also offers extensive service and advice for any enquiries of the spoke-wheeled type.




(I had polenta with a variety of mushrooms in a cream and garlic sauce with roast cherry tomatoes, pictured, which was gawwwwjas, but I still think the plate needed a little green garnish to perk it up visually - maybe some salad leaves or something?)

****

Really amazing, and part of that strange Bristol optimism, the just going with a good but crazy idea and seeing what happens, that makes every day in this city a new and exciting adventure!

xx p.d