Browsing in Bristol

Yet more Art, Ale and Anti-Establishment!
 It was a loaded Yvette that went down the M4, and soon we were unloading all the photo albums and looking round the love nest with its year's worth of improvements. Not bad at all, and the sun was shining! They were both working next day so we began our extensive tour of the city - largely on foot and by bus. The latter gets a lot of stick from Bristolians, but we were staying in Horfield so as to be on a key route and we were generally happy with the reliability and cost. ("Cheers Drive!")
For five of the six days that we stayed it was very warm indeed, so ideal for the various quests we gave ourselves. This included two appointments for Ruth with the owner of the physiotherapy practice where Jack's Mum and sister work. Out of this came some detailed advice, reassurance and latterly some serious mobilisation for the recalcitrant knee.

Banksy's wit: We are fans!

Another objective was to find and view as many works by Banksy as possible. Greyrocks has been growing more admiring of the mystery street artist, whose latest Brexit-inspired oeuvre is in Dover and another target.  One of the Bristol set is just round the corner from Chloë. We sought five others and managed four, in the process not only getting plenty of exercise, but also discovering several other cultural gems! This includes the magnificent M-Shed, where we spent an age (it is free!) exploring both the shame of the city (slave trade and tobacco) and the glorious independence and libertarian spirit of its people. (Not to mention the hot-air balloons, buses, ,,,,) And outside - on an old docks crane was a peculiar sight which Mr Google later helped us to understand!

On the Thursday evening we found ourselves caught up in the news! We were eating a deux in the city centre in a branch of an up-market Italian chain - which shall remain nameless to protect Greyrocks from its creditors - when we were told to leave;- the area was being evacuated, and to go now  without paying the bill! So we did:- we had finished the over-priced main course and had a fair amount of wine left in our glasses! We joined the substantial exodus and found a phone box with a shelf. We waited, finished the wine and sought information. It seems it was a bomb scare.
After a while we decided to try and get back to the hotel by a route outside the cordon, with no map and only Ruth's thirty-year old memory. It took a while, but we found a bus, and that was that!

The weekend's evening meals were rather less eventful, and all en famille! On Friday there was a BBQ at the home of Jack's parents and his sister joined us briefly too! It had been a sweltering day so conditions were perfect! we ate and drank well in a lovely garden and got to know better the in-law-in-laws to be! Saturday was also hot, but we had shopping missions like a scanner to fulfill, and afterwards the best we could think of was to meet C and J at our pub where there was a beer festival, and the food looked good! It was! We also sampled a good few ales - a process which the youngsters continued after we retired hurt! Finally, there was rain threatened for Sunday. but we set off again with a day bus ticket, and had fun walking round the harbour area and getting confused by the disruption of bus services around The Centre until it did rain and we took refuge with the papers in a Clifton pub, then advanced to meet up at The Gloucester Road Ale House. This was Chloë's idea for our final evening, based on her attending regularly (and sometimes being amongst the winners of) their Sunday Quiz. The role of Quiz-master is being passed around a gang of her old Oxford friends and this was the second session for Chris (her ex). He had been criticised for obscurity, and this was no exception., including the appended map question! We two were separated into the teams in our group, and Bob's did win the GBP50 prize, but we all loved the ale, the Sunday roast and the interesting company.

Back at the inn the festival had finished for the night and we had to enter by the fire escape!