05 Jun 2022
Another day not dissimilar to my last wander: I'm feeling a bit tired and rather than just moping around the house I thought I'd find some tiny bit of somewhere that I'd not yet walked and get outdoors. This time I headed for the Tobacco Factory Market in Bedminster, as I often do, but went the long way around via Ashton Court Mansion as I knew there were some footpaths and a small section of road I'd not ticked off up there. Finishing all the Ashton Court footpaths will be quite a long job, but you've got to start somewhere...
I did feel rather better by the time I got home, and, pretty much astoundingly given the weather forecast, managed to avoid the rain completely.
First hint of Jubilee-related decorations on this rather odd balcony at the bottom of Granby Hill. The other decoration on this building is a peeing "KEEP YOU JOB KEEP THE POUND" sticker in the next window along that looks like it dates from the 1990s.
Fairly typical Bristol scene here, as the traffic is held up for a bridge swing caused by a replica of a 15th century caravel.
I'd normally walk over those open lock gates she's just sailed through, but it's easy enough to walk down to the gates at the river end.
Yup, it's definitely all kicking off. They'll probably manage to build an entire development here before the Council finish fixing the bit of Cumberland Road that collapsed just around the corner.
For looks, I prefer the side with the mullioned windows, but neither of them seems that satisfactory to me, architecturally-speaking. It's all a bit mis-matched and asymmetrical, with very odd spacing here and there.
Pre-Upfest, as recently as April, Pikto's boy with the catapult still adorned the side of the Coopers Arms.
Not quite sure what to make of the replacement. It's much lower-contrast and less eye-catching, for me. Also, I'm so out of touch I have no idea if that's an original character or some famous pop-cuture reference.
Ahh, according to Natural Adventures it's "what looks like a Vaughn Bode Lizard, an Iconic character in the world of street art", and it's by an artist called Derm. I'd never heard of Vaughn Bodē or his Cheech Wizard and lizard apprentice, so it's not surprising this piece is going over my head. Probably more one for the real aficionados to appreciate.
The technique that Ant Carver used for this piece, called "Love Me/Love Not", is intriguing. I recommend reading the write-up on the always-informative Natural Adventures.