Bristol

  • A confusing spell in Red(e)cliff(e)

    Steve WoodsBristol, Language, Oddities, Politics, Social Media

    One of the oldest districts of Bristol is Redcliffe (or Redcliff. Ed.).

    According to its Wikipedia entry, Redcliffe – the more common spelling – was once part of the manor of Bedminster before its absorption into the city of Bristol in the 13th century.

    However, the spelling of Redcliff(e) has long caused controversy.

    Richard Ricart, a town clerk of Bristol, in his The Maire of Bristowe is Kalendar, written between 1480 and 1508 and recording the history of Bristol since the 12th century, refers throughout to Redcliff, although there is also an occasional unusual reference to Redecliff. Both appear in this extract documenting the digging of St. Augustine’s Trench (later renamed St. Augustine’s Reach. Ed.) in 1240:

    This yere was the Trenche y-made and y-caste of the ryvere, fro the Gybbe Tailloure unto the key, by the maanovre of alle the Cominalte, as wele of Redcliff warde as of the Towne of Bristowe. And the same tyme thenhabitaunts of Redecliff were combyned and corporatid with the Town of Bristowe. And as for the grounde of Seynt Austyn’s side of the forseid ryver hit was yeve and grauntid to the Cominaltee of the seid Towne by Sir William a Bradstone then Abbot of Seynt Austyns for certeyn money therfore to hym paide by the seide Cominaltee. As appereth by olde writyng therof made bitwene the forseid Maire and Cominaltee and the seid Abbot and Covent.

    Redcliff these days tends to appear mostly in street names, such as Redcliff Street – the ancient road leading from Bristol Bridge to the former Redcliffe Gate in the city’s medieval walls – whilst Redcliffe is the more common version.

    A couple of quick text searches via Google of Bristol City Council’s website for Redcliff and Redcliffe gives the following results.

    • Redcliff: 1,120 results
    • Redcliffe: 4,020 results

    However, confusion as the spelling of Redcliff(e) has a long history. This is amply illustrated by the painting below by James Johnson entitled Redcliffe Street. It was painted around 1825 and hangs in Bristol City Museum & Art Gallery.

    image of James Johnson's picture of Redcliffe Street, c. 1825
    Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

    Kerry McCarthy, MP for Bristol East, has now stepped into this confusing orthographic and municipal muddle via the following tweet dated August 21st.

    Before boundary changes preceding the 2010 election, Redcliff(e) was part of Kerry’s Bristol East constituency.

    It has to be conceded that there is plenty of merit in Kerry’s suggestion, although she maintains she was only ‘moaning in Twitter’.

    Bristol is nevertheless one of those places which changes at a glacial pace and place names in Bristol are frequently named after long-vanished owners/occupiers. For instance, most older inhabitants of the city still refer to the local authority’s headquarters as the Council House (pronounced Counts Louse locally. Ed.), even though one of the first acts of elected Mayor George Ferguson was to rename it with the American-sounding City Hall in a cosmetic exercise.

    Does Kerry’s campaign have any chance of success? Your views are welcome in the comments below.

  • Builder’s English?

    Steve WoodsBristol, Language

    Seen this morning on Church Road, Lawrence Hill, Bristol.

    sign stating smile your on camera

    The person who wrote the copy must have fallen asleep in English classes when the difference between the abbreviated second person conjugation of the verb ‘to be’ and the second person possessive adjective was being explained.

    Never mind, poor English skills don’t seem to have been a barrier to employment with Cleverley Builders of Whitchurch, Bristol or Swann Security; it was uncertain to your correspondent as to who had produced the sign. However, the ability to lie on signage is also valued by Cleverley Builders and/or Swann Security as no evidence of the physical presence of video surveillance equipment could be discerned.

    If the author of the sign happens to read this, help is at hand to assist you in learning the distinguish them.

    Neither of my parents, both of whom left school at 14 years of age and received not much more than a primary education in rural Norfolk in the 1930s and 1940s would not have made such a glaring mistake in English – a mistake which seems all too commonplace amongst the beneficiaries of the modern British education system.

  • West Country confusion

    Steve WoodsBristol, Language, Media, Oddities

    The Western Daily Press is a stablemate of the Bristol Post and seems to share many of the latter’s afflictions – the same ugly Brutalist building on Bristol’s Temple Way, poor English, dodgy photo captions and the like.

    It was therefore no surprise to encounter a prime example of confused reporting this morning, as illustrated by the screenshot below.

    screensot of garbled article from Western Daily Press

    If one examines the article to which the news page above relates, three disparate elements seem to have been combined by reporter Geoff Bennett (who also writes for the Bristol Post. Ed.) and his associates, i.e.:

    • a headline referring to widespread outbreaks of salmonella food poisoning in hospitals in England;
    • a cuddly kittens picture and apposite caption; and
    • a report on the court case of the alleged groping barber (who was cleared by the court. Ed.) which gave rise to Friday’s sexist Bristol Post front page (posts passim).

    There is nothing like good, unambiguous reporting of the news – and the Western Daily Press is capable of nothing like it!

  • Bristol Post Balls – bad punning and sexism

    Steve WoodsBristol, Language, Media

    Regular readers will be aware that the Bristol Post is not renowned for the quality of its journalism.

    However, the dreadful pun and sexism of today’s front page of the dead tree edition marked a new low in the paper’s already woeful standards.

    image of Bristol Post front page with sexist pun

    Bad puns are annoying in headlines at the best of times and sexism is tolerated far less than when the fifty-something males in charge of producing Bristol’s daily work of fiction first started out in what was then called journalism.

    There has been a steady stream of criticism of the Bristol Post on Twitter throughout the day.

    However, the paper has not sought to respond to any of its critics, presumably because the person in charge of the Twitter account has yet to notice the ‘reply’ button.

    In addition, some of Bristol’s Twitterati have also been alerting the national media to The Post’s disgraceful front page seeking to trivialise a sexual assault.

    With front pages like the one above, is it any surprise that the Post’s circulation figures (as measured by ABC) are falling by nearly 11% per year? Not to me it isn’t!

    Update 18/08/14: Bristol 24-7 is reporting today that Bristol City councillor Naomi Rylatt has written to the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) over the above front page headline, describing it as a “disgusting attempt at humour“.

  • Swansea news exclusive

    Steve WoodsBristol, Language, Media

    Over in Swansea, Bristol Post owners Local World have a local news title – the South Wales Evening Post, which describes itself as “Wales’ largest selling newspaper“.

    As such, one would have thought that such a boast was based upon hard-hitting stories and investigative journalism.

    However, this is not so.

    Just like its Bristol counterpart, the South Wales Evening Post also has an approach to what constitutes news and headlines which could be described as parochial, i.e. narrow in outlook or scope.

    image of advert for paper with headline mouldy rolls ruined family bbq

    Hat tip: Marjory Smith

  • Street furniture

    Steve WoodsBristol, Language, Politics

    According to Wikipedia, street furniture is a collective term for objects and pieces of equipment installed on streets and roads for various purposes. It includes benches, traffic barriers, bollards, post boxes, phone boxes, streetlamps, traffic lights, traffic signs, bus stops, tram stops, taxi stands, public lavatories, fountains, watering troughs, memorials, public sculptures, and waste receptacles.

    image of fly-tipped chairs

    The communal refuse bin in the picture above is street furniture, the office chairs lazily left beside it are not; they are fly-tipping.

    Tackling fly-tipping, litter and waste in some parts of Bristol can seem at times like nailing fog to the wall and the fly-tipping shown above has been notified to Bristol City Council via Twitter and complete with the #tidybs5 hashtag (posts passim).

    Besides Twitter, fly-tipping can be reported to the city council by:

    • using the dedicated fly-tipping report form (also has a mobile version that works on smartphones);
    • a third party smartphone app, such as My Council (which is available for both Android and iOS; and
    • telephoning 0117 922 2100.

    The most direct reporting route is using the fly-tipping form as the report is sent directly to the department concerned, whereas the other methods require the report to be forwarded.

  • DRIP: a drippy response from my MP

    Steve WoodsBristol, Politics, Tech

    image of Stephen Williams MP
    DRIP, DRIP, the erosion of civil liberties – voted for by Stephen Williams MP
    Earlier today I received a response to my email of earlier this week to Bristol West MP Stephen Williams (posts passim) on the repressive Data Retention and Investigatory Powers (DRIP) Bill, which was rushed through both Houses of Parliament in 3 days and received royal assent yesterday.

    Stephen Williams’ response is reproduced in full below.

    The only comments I will make on his email is that like the Home Office propaganda it persistently parrots, it is wholly unsatisfactory and inadequate as a response. It’s full of scarcely credible weasel words, as well as being well stuffed with Liberal Democrat self-promotion, which is never a pretty sight. Finally, I was flabbergasted by Williams’ definition of ’emergency legislation’.

    Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Bill

    Thank you for getting in touch with me to share your concerns about the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers (DRIP) Bill. Over the course of this email I would like to outline why I voted in favour of the legislation, along with the vast majority of MPs from all three main parties.

    First and foremost, this legislation is about retaining existing powers, not creating new ones. It also contains a significant number of new safeguards, thanks largely to Liberal Democrat pressure and involvement from my colleagues Simon Hughes, the Justice Minister, and Julian Huppert, the Lib Dem Home Office spokesman in the Commons and a former board member of Liberty.

    It is clear that a balance must be struck between protecting civil liberties on the one hand and ensuring the safety of society on the other. Ultimately, I believe that our security forces must have certain powers at their disposal to counter domestic and international threats. However, there must be limits to such powers and the key factors here are regulation and transparency. That is why I am pleased that there are a number of checks and balances included in the DRIP Bill that will ensure tighter control over data retention and increased transparency.

    One of the main reasons why the European Court of Justice (ECJ) struck down the Data Retention Directive was because it contained no adequate safeguards. When we implemented the Directive, we embedded it in to a set of pre-existing laws, which already included a range of safeguards, and ensured that access to stored data had to be necessary, proportionate and for defined purposes. This framework complied with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and we had already applied many of the safeguards that the ECJ was calling for.

    The government’s proposals introduce further safeguards on top of this, the most significant of which is that the legislation is time-limited. It is to expire at the end of 2016 and at this point would need further approval by Parliament to continue.

    Liberal Democrats in government have also secured a further package of checks and balances, including the establishment of a Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, further reform of the Intelligence and Security Committee, compulsory annual transparency reports and the restriction of the number of public bodies (such as councils) that are able to approach phone and internet companies for communications data. In addition, the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation is to carry out a review of our communications data and interception laws as part of the proposals. I believe that these are all important reforms in order to ensure that the government, or indeed any other body, cannot and does not disproportionately infringe on people’s privacy.

    In response to the ECJ ruling, we included a range of measures in the technical regulations that accompany the Bill. These include oversight of data storage by the Information Commissioner, and a more flexible system that will allow for shorter retention periods than 12 months where appropriate. We are confident that these changes will mean that our data retention laws will be compliant with the court ruling and with the European Convention on Human Rights.

    The Liberal Democrats and I care passionately about civil liberties, privacy and the need to limit abusive state surveillance. Since entering government we have resisted, and will continue to resist, anything that might give rise to a “Snooper’s Charter”. While we accept that there is a need for the police and intelligence agencies to have the tools to do their job, we must of course ensure that these tools are very carefully controlled, appropriately used and proportionate to the threat faced. It is a balance.

    Many people have questioned the need for such reforms so promptly. It is true that the UK is not in a state of national emergency but that is not what this legislation is about. Emergency legislation means that the Bill is being brought through on an accelerated timetable, in this case because if we did not act now, internet and phone companies would imminently start deleting data and refusing to service interception warrants. This in effect would harm the ability of our security services to bring criminals to justice and keep us safe.

    I am proud of the Liberal Democrats record in government and, unlike previous administrations, we have done much to support and defend civil liberties. We have scrapped ID cards, ended 28-day detention without charge, curtailed stop and search powers, ended routine child detention for immigration purposes, reformed the libel laws to protect free speech, and much more. If it was down to us we would have made even more progress but these measures, and in this case the several safeguards included in the DRIP Bill, would simply not have happened without us in government.

    I hope that you have found this response useful. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of further assistance on this matter, or any other.

    Yours sincerely,

    Stephen

    Stephen Williams | MP for Bristol West

  • Debate: should Britain go to war with Germany?

    Steve WoodsBristol, Politics

    On 4th August 1914 Britain declared war on Germany. On August 2nd, Bristol Dockers’ Union held a mass meeting on the dockside to debate whether Britain should go to war. The meeting voted unanimously against war. This was one of many anti-war meetings and demonstrations held across the country.

    The Western Daily Press of 3rd August 1914 carried a report of the original debate, which is shown in the image below.

    WDP report of 3rd August 1914

    The planned commemorations of the outbreak of war will ignore the voices of the many people who spoke out against war a hundred years ago. Rather than people being united in wanting to attack Germany, a debate raged as to whether or not Britain should go to war.

    Remembering The Real World War 1 will be re-staging the Bristol dockers’ debate at 2.00 pm on Saturday 26th July near the Arnolfini on Narrow Quay (map) in Bristol.

    front of flyer

    Everyone is welcome to come along and join in the debate; I shall be participating as an anti-war nautical type! Period costume will be more than welcome, as will flags, banners & placards.

    For more information visit the Remembering the Real WW1 website.

  • #tidyBS5 in the Bristol Post

    Steve WoodsBristol, Politics

    This blog has previously highlighted the problem of fly-tipping in the Easton and Lawrence Hill areas of Bristol (posts passim).

    The move to get more people involved in reporting and combating this menace that blights the inner city took another step forward two days ago when it was featured in the Bristol Post, as shown by the following screenshot.

    Bristol Post article image

    I was contacted by the Post’s Sophie Prideaux and we exchanged emails that went on to form the basis of the article and, as I’m feeling charitable, I’ll even forgive her for changing my surname from plural to singular halfway through the piece. 🙂

    Sophie also contacted my local councillor, Marg Hickman, who’s been a great support from the outset.

    Another purpose of the article was to publicise the #tidyBS5 hashtag, which is being used to highlight the scourge of fly-tipping in the BS5 postal area on social media, such as Twitter.

    As regards Marg’s involvement, the Post states:

    Mrs Hickman, a Labour councillor for Lawrence Hill ward, is urging residents to get behind #tidyBS5, saying it’s an “important initiative to improve the quality of life of residents living in BS5”.

    Read the Post’s report.

  • #tidyBS5 gains momentum

    Steve WoodsBristol, Politics, Social Media

    After the last Easton & Lawrence Hill Neighbourhood Forum meeting where I talked about fly-tipping in my area of Bristol (posts passim), it was suggested to me that I devise a hashtag for use on Twitter and elsewhere to help highlight the problem. My answer was #tidyBS5.

    The hashtag and its use have now been given another boost by publicity in the fortnightly Easton & Lawrence Hill Neighbourhood Management email bulletin.

    image from newsletter featuring tidybs5

    There’s also a meeting with councillors and officers on fly-tipping and rubbish in just over a week’s time to which I’ve also been invited. Let’s hope it ends in some proper enforcement and action to make scenes like the one below a thing of the past.

    image of Stapleton Rd fly-tipping

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