Ship Shape and Bristol Fashion

The main reason Kim and Mike made the journey to Bristol was to spend time with James, Mike’s eldest son.  James’ work life is demanding and it was a special treat that he was able to take a week away to show us around the city.

Bristol is a thriving place that is proud to show off its history and art.  There’s a lot of Brunel of course.  The SS Great Britain, from 1845 to 1854 the longest passenger ship in the world has been restored from a rusted hulk to demonstrate how magnificent it once would have been.  Especially impressive is the replica engine, complete with its eighteen feet diameter main gear and giant pistons, all of which move.  Cabin and galley reconstruction tell stories of earlier times whilst six towering masts dominate the sky above decks.

Of course Isambard Kingdom Brunel was also responsible for the famous Clifton Suspension Bridge.  The trio walked it several times and checked out the visitor centre that clearly explains the challenges of building and the innovative method of construction.  The bridge was opened in 1864 and in its 150 years of operation has been closed due to adverse weather only once (in 2015).  Originally designed to cater for horse-drawn traffic, the Clifton Suspension Bridge today serves as a crossing for more than four million vehicles every year.

Brunel’s achievements are recognised as being remarkable.  Mike asked him about it but found IKB to be most reticent in his responses.

Kim, Mike and James walked around the ‘Floating Harbour’, several times in fact, spotted yet more engineering masterpieces including a very early water powered hydraulic system, Brunel’s ‘other’ bridge (a smaller swing bridge) but never did get to fully understand which bit was supposed to be floating.  However, it’s a bustling, picturesque place made lively by locals and visitors alike, sampling the delights of myriad cafes and bars that line the docksides.

Now it’s not clear why it was decided to produce a knitted Bristol, but a lot of effort must have been required to make the display.  Maybe the artistic side of the city influenced the decision.

Bristol does have a thriving art scene.  Banksy lives there and his work can be seen, that is, if you have a local guide like James.  Mike especially liked this take on Vermeer’s ‘Girl with a pearl earring’.

One high spot of the week was a visit to The Puppet Place.  Bristol is the where Wallace and Gromit have their adventures, where Shaun the Sheep gets up to mischief, where Chicken Run was filmed, where Morph was created and where puppetry thrives in many forms.  At the Puppet Place Generator, four very different puppetry acts were presented, all entertaining, all comical.  At the fund raising auction at the end, James bid for and won the star lot, a model of Morph made there and then by Peter Lord, the creator of the character.  James also gets a private tour around the Aardman Studios.  Just let’s say that there were a lot of very envious people in the room that evening.

James also created his own private contribution to the Bristol world of art.  Everyone got stuck in with paint and brushes to revamp the courtyard.  Note the water feature and James’ ‘artistic’ scooter hanging on the wall.

And so a terrific week came to an end.  Kim and Mike made their way to Essex and James returned to work.  Thank you James for a great time.