What can you tell me about the city of Bristol?

Question

What kind of atmosphere does the city have? What are the people like? I may be moving there (from the contient) and I don't know what to expect. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Answer 1

The city is famous for its music and film industries, and was a finalist for the 2008 European Capital of Culture.[30]

The city's principal theatre company, the Bristol Old Vic, was founded in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic company in London. Its premises on King Street consist of the 1766 Theatre Royal (400 seats), a modern studio theatre called the New Vic (150 seats), and foyer and bar areas in the adjacent Coopers' Hall (built 1743). The Theatre Royal is a grade I listed building and was the oldest continuously operating theatre in England. The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which had originated in King street is now a separate company. The Bristol Hippodrome is a larger theatre (1981 seats) which hosts national touring productions, while the 2000-seat Colston Hall, named after Edward Colston, is the city's main concert venue. Other theatres include the Tobacco Factory, QEH and Redgrave Theatre (at Clifton College). Bristol's theatre scene includes a large variety of theatre companies, an organisation called Theatre Bristol runs a website which aims to develop the theatre industry in Bristol, [31] this website lists 82 different theatre companies operating within the city.[32] There are also a number of organisation within the city which act to support theatre makers, for example Equity, the actors union, has a General Branch based in the city [33] and there is an organisation called Residence which provides office, social and rehearsal space for several Bristol based theatre and performance companies.[34]

Since the late 1970s, the city has been home to bands combining punk, funk, dub and political consciousness, the most celebrated being The Pop Group. Ten years later, Bristol was the birthplace of a type of English hip-hop music called trip hop or the "Bristol Sound", from artists such as Tricky, Portishead, Smith & Mighty and Massive Attack. It is also a stronghold of drum & bass with notable artists such as the Mercury Prize winning Roni Size/Reprazent as well as the pioneering DJ Krust and More Rockers. This music is part of the wider Bristol urban culture scene which received international media attention in the 1990s.[35] Bristol is home to many live music venues, including Fiddlers, Victoria Rooms, St George's and a range of pubs from the jazz orientated The Old Duke to rock at the Fleece and Firkin and indie bands at the Louisiana.[36]



Bristol Industrial Museum.The Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery houses a collection of natural history, archaeology, local glassware, Chinese ceramics and art. The Bristol Industrial Museum, featuring preserved dock machinery, closed in October 2006 for complete renovation and plans to reopen in 2009 as the Museum of Bristol[37] The City Museum also runs three preserved historic houses: the Tudor Red Lodge, the Georgian House, and Blaise Castle House. The Watershed Media Centre and Arnolfini gallery, both in disused dockside warehouses, exhibit contemporary art, photography and cinema, while the city's oldest gallery is at the Royal West of England Academy in Clifton.

Stop frame animation films and commercials produced by Aardman Animations and television series focusing on the natural world have also brought fame and artistic credit to the city. The city is home to the regional headquarters of BBC West, and the BBC Natural History Unit. Locations in and around Bristol often feature in the BBC's natural history programmes, including the children's television programme Animal Magic, filmed at Bristol Zoo.



The Llandoger Trow, an ancient public house in the heart of BristolIn literature Bristol is noted as the birth place of the 18th century poet Thomas Chatterton, and the poets Robert Southey, who was born in Wine Street, Bristol in 1774, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge married the Bristol Fricker sisters; and William Wordsworth spent time in the city where Joseph Cottle first published Lyrical Ballads in 1798.

The 18th and 19th century portrait painter Sir Thomas Lawrence and 19th century architect Francis Greenway, designer of many of Sydney's first buildings, came from the city, and more recently the graffiti artist Banksy. Some famous comedians are locals, including Justin Lee Collins, Lee Evans, and writer/comedian Stephen Merchant.

Bristol University graduates include magician and psychological illusionist Derren Brown; the satirist Chris Morris; Simon Pegg and Nick Frost of Spaced, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz; and Matt Lucas and David Walliams of Little Britain fame. Hollywood actor Cary Grant was born in the city; Patrick Stewart, Jane Lapotaire, Pete Postlethwaite, Jeremy Irons, Greta Scacchi, Miranda Richardson, Helen Baxendale, Daniel Day-Lewis and Gene Wilder are amongst the many actors who learnt their craft at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, opened by Sir Laurence Olivier in 1946. Hugo Weaving studied at Queen Elizabeth's Hospital School and David Prowse (Darth Vader, Star Wars) attended Bristol Grammar School.

[edit] Sport and leisure



Ashton Gate stadium with the Clifton Suspension Bridge in the background over the Avon GorgeThe city has two League football clubs: Bristol City and Bristol Rovers, as well as a number of non-league clubs, most notably Bristol Manor Farm. Bristol City are the more successful football team in the city, having been promoted to the second tier of English football in 2007. City recently lost in the play-off final of the Championship to Hull City (2007/2008 season). City announced plans for a new 30,000 all seater stadium to replace their home, Ashton Gate. Bristol Rovers, are the oldest professional football team in Bristol, formed in 1883. Rovers are just below mid-table in League One, and reached the Quarter-Final stage of the FA Cup. During their history, Rovers have been Champions of the (old) division Three (1952/53, 1989/90), Watney Cup Winners (1972, 2006/07), and runners-up in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy. The Club have planning permission to re-develop the Memorial Stadium into an 18,500 All-seater Stadium to be completed by December 2010.



The County Ground, Ashley DownThe city is also home to Bristol Rugby rugby union club, a first-class cricket side, Gloucestershire C.C.C. and a Rugby League Conference side, the Bristol Sonics. The city also stages an annual half marathon, and in 2001 played host to the World Half Marathon Championships. There are several athletics clubs in Bristol, including Bristol and West AC, Bitton Road Runners and Westbury Harriers. Speedway racing was staged, with breaks, at the Knowle Stadium from 1928 to 1960, when it was closed and the site redeveloped. The sport briefly returned to the City in the 1970s when the Bulldogs raced at Eastville Stadium.

In summer the grounds of Ashton Court to the west of the city play host to the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, a major event for hot-air ballooning in the UK. The Fiesta draws a substantial crowd even for the early morning lift that typically begins at about 6.30 am. Events and a fairground entertain the crowds during the day. A second mass ascent is then made in the early evening, again taking advantage of lower wind speeds. Ashton Court also plays host to the Ashton Court festival each summer, an outdoors music festival which used to be known as the Bristol Community Festival.

[edit] Media



Bristol International Balloon FiestaBristol has a daily morning newspaper, the Western Daily Press; an evening paper, the Evening Post; a weekly free newspaper, the Bristol Observer; and a Bristol edition of the free Metro newspaper. The local weekly listings magazine, Venue, covers the city's music, theatre and arts scenes. All of these papers are owned by the Northcliffe Group. The city has several local radio stations, including BBC Radio Bristol, GWR FM (previously known as Radio West), Classic Gold 1260, Kiss 101, Star 107.2, BCfm (a community radio station launched March 2007), Original 106[38] as well as two student radio stations, The Hub and BURST.



Cabot Tower viewed from Brandon Hill park

[edit] Dialect

A dialect of English is spoken by some Bristol inhabitants, known colloquially as Bristolian. Bristol is the only large English city with a rhotic accent, in which the r in words like car is pronounced. The unusual feature of this dialect, unique to Bristol, is the Bristol L (or terminal L), in which an L sound is appended to words that end in an 'a' or 'o'.[39] Thus "area" becomes "areal", etc. This is believed to be how the city's name evolved from Brycgstow to have a final 'L' sound: Bristol. Further Bristolian linguistic features are the addition of a superfluous "to" in questions relating to direction or orientation (a feature also common to the coastal towns of South Wales), or using "to" instead of "at"; and using male pronouns "he", "him" instead of "it". For example, "Where's that?" would be phrased as "Where's he to?", a structure exported to Newfoundland English.[40]

Stanley Ellis, a dialect researcher, found that many of the dialect words in the Filton area were linked to work in the aerospace industry. He described this as "a cranky, crazy, crab-apple tree of language and with the sharpest, juiciest flavour that I've heard for a long time".[41]

A (slightly tongue in cheek) guide to Bristol's dialect is at http://www.thatbebristle.co.uk/

[edit] Politics and government

Main article: Politics of Bristol



The Council House, the seat of local government

St Mary Redcliffe church and the Floating Harbour, BristolBristol City Council consists of 70 councillors representing 35 wards. They are elected in thirds with two councillors per ward, each serving a four-year term. Wards never have both councillors up for election at the same time, so e

Answer 2

Don't bother with Bristol itself - go a little way outside the city, and enjoy some of the most beautiful countryside, and some of the best pubs that the country has to offer.

EDIT: for numpty above - it's England's sixth largest city, and the second most important financial centre. The night-life is fairly vibrant, and most areas are OK to walk around at any time (obviously, St Pauls is excluded).

Answer 3

Clifton is a smart and friendly area of Bristol but it is also an expensive area.

Avoid Knowle west,Hartcliffe and especially St Pauls.

Answer 4

Bristol rules! :)

Answer 5

It's one of my favourite places - very varied.

When I worked there the people were all very nice - it is in southern England so you shouldn't expect to be greeted with hugs wherever you go though!

Don't go there unless you like living on hills!!!  Christmas Steps after the christmas party are DANGEROUS!

Answer 6

I agree with what the guy above said. Sorry, my mistake, what the gut above copied and pasted.

Answer 7

very good place for a night out..................

fun question, leave a comment plz.

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/ind...

Answer 8

It's small and boring.