Breaking The Chains Exhibition

Last week I visited "Breaking the Chains", a £1 million, lottery-funded exhibition running at the Bristol Empire & Commonwealth museum until the end of this year. It celebrates the formal abolition of slavery, while acknowledging that slavery still exists today in other forms. This is a very informative exhibition, that presents plenty of interesting facts about the history of slavery, including Bristol's shameful involvement in it.

The exhibition is very varied and well worth visiting. There are authentic artefacts, film, music, photography, video and personal testimonies to provide visitors with an incredible multi-sensory experience. The entire top floor of the Museum has six dedicated galleries covering the following key areas:

Gallery 1. What is slavery?
Gallery 2. Africa and Europe
Gallery 3: The Caribbean
Gallery 4: The Age of Abolition
Gallery 5. In slavery’s footsteps

There is also a place where visitors are encouraged to record their own thoughts and responses in audio or video format to any aspect of the 'Breaking the Chains' exhibition, called the "Vox Box". This is a nice touch, but I doubt how many people have actually used this facility. In fact, I wonder how many people have actually visited this exhibition. It was very empty when I went there, although it was a weekday, but I get the feeling that it is not doing very well for itself. It would be a shame if the museum had to close it down prematurely, because it really is an engaging and educational exhibition, that I recommend highly to anyone interested in the history of the relationship between Africa and Europe.

Devil Kicks Dance Hall!

Devil Kicks Dance Hall is a live cabaret show, that has recently moved from the third Thursday of every month at Mr Wolf's, to the first Saturday of each month at the Attic, on Stoke's Croft. It's at once eclectic, subversive and raucous - what more do you need for a night out?

Since its debut in September, it has been the best value cabaret show in town, and has hosted some great burlesque dancers such as Lil' Miss Treated and the Blue Betties, as well as some brilliant music acts and DJs. The focus for the music is on Rockabilly and Psychobilly, which is usually the oeuvre of the headline act, but watch out for some really unusual and impressive support acts as well. The Dj spins uptempo swing, jazz, rock n roll and 60s garage music, so your feet are likely to get a good workout on the dancefloor.

Everyone is encouraged to dress up, and although this isn't essential, most people do. I always love to see lots of glamourously dressed divas and gentlemen - it all helps to create a special party atmosphere. Eye masks and other accessories are not out of place here.

Winter Walking On The Downs

Whilst Bristol residents often refer to The Downs, they may not realise that it actually consists of two adjacent downs, Clifton Down and Durdham Down - two large, historic, grassed green spaces of about 400 acres.

Although on the edge of the city, the Downs feels like open countryside, with their wide views of the Avon Gorge, Leigh Woods, north Somerset, the Severn estuary and across to south Wales, and as I have found out this weekend, are a great place to spend winter days.

The Downs covers a wide area north of Clifton Suspension Bridge, almost to Henleaze and Westbury on Trym. The wide grassy green spaces are edged with mature natural woodland and popular residential districts, and are so peaceful (and deserted!) in February that it feels like you're in the countryside. Wrap up warm and take a Thermos, and you could have a lovely day out, as I have found this weekend.

Nearly all parts of the grass areas of the Downs are flat and fully accessible to wheelchair users with no obstacles. A drawback for the wheelchair-bound is that many of the paths along the western edge of the Downs bordering on the Gorge are narrow and have steep inclines or steps, but you can actually plan a route using the Bristol City Council website, www.bristol.gov.uk.

I can't recommend it enough.

Spotlight on the Colston Hall in February

The Colston Hall is one of Bristol's premier venues, and over the last 140 years has been host to many internationally-renowned performance artists.

Some of my favourite nights out in Bristol have been spent here, from Detroit-based prog rockers Pere Ubu performing a live soundtrack to classic B-movie "It Came From Outer Space" to a brilliant stand up performance from Dylan Moran of TV sitcom "Black Books" fame.

The schedule of events is always eclectic, and tries to appeal to as many people as possible. In February, the youngsters may well be overjoyed to see pop diva Natasha Bedingfield live in concert, whereas older pop fans will be scrambling for tickets to see the flamboyant Boy George and/or the butter-voiced, optically challenged Gabrielle. Fans of world music would adore Salif Keita, Tony Allen and Didier Awadi team up for the African Soul Rebels night on 16th, as well as Chambao's electronica/dub take on the flamenco genre, on Thursday 28th. Even if these great names don't appeal to you, a quick look at the full program of events for February should find something to whet your aural appetites:

Thu Feb 07 Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Wed Feb 13 Boy George
Thu Feb 14 Bristol Choral Society & the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra
Sat Feb 16 African Soul Rebels
Mon Feb 18 Natasha Bedingfield
Tue Feb 19 Gabrielle
Wed Feb 20 Vienna Tonkunstler Orchestra
Sun Feb 24 'Pirates Ahoy!' with the Emerald Chamber Orchestra
Wed Feb 27 Fanfare for Fairtrade
Thu Feb 28 Chambao