In praise of Bristol

[snaarman]

Anyway, moving on:

Bristol is absolutely heaving at night. It's the first warm day of summer, there's an event at the harbour and it's graduation week.
But the view out of the hotel window at 4 am was quite an education: Girls drunk as skunks trying to walk home zigzag style and use the phone at the same time. No shoes: (Lost them somewhere I guess)

What is more impressive is how tidy it was by 9 am. Do they have to do this mega clear up every night??

Rant over: Nice arty picture from down by the harbour or dock thing.



And lots of water features with lots of wet kids:



See how much nicer old Blighty is when the sun shines...


Pete

[StephenL]

Re: In praise of Bristol

Never been to Brisstle. Did you see the SS Great Britain?

[snaarman]

Re: In praise of Bristol

Never been to Brisstle. Did you see the SS Great Britain?

slightly more than a 1/2 pint. No wonder students are broke..


Grumpy mode off.

No, sod it. Leave grumpy mode on.

[brianvickers]

Re: In praise of Bristol

Nice reflection shots....the steel globe is a planetarium I think, not been in though.

[steverh]

bit more bearable

I'm never down there at 4am so cannot comment on what you saw but nothing would surprise me

Yes, the spherical building is a planetarium.

You really should visit the SS Great Britain, it's worth a special trip.

[snaarman]

Re: In praise of Bristol

bit more bearable

We were in The Rummer which is in the interesting part of town, as it were...

Pete

[steverh]

Re: In praise of Bristol

We were in The Rummer which is in the interesting part of town, as it were...

Pete

Good grief - it used to be a Berni Inn (remember those?) but it has obviously gone up market I walk past it almost every working day but have never been in. Will make a point of not doing so.

Your lunchtime expeditions with a camera have shamed me into bringing one into work much more often now it's stopped raining for a bit!

[DerekW]

Re: In praise of Bristol

It is interesting comparing Portsmouth and Bristol - both maritime towns but one is Royal Navy and the other commercial. It shows that "commercial" generated the money for fine buildings.

[snaarman]

Re: In praise of Bristol

It is interesting comparing Portsmouth and Bristol - both maritime towns but one is Royal Navy and the other commercial. It shows that "commercial" generated the money for fine buildings.

There's an Elephant in the room... (If you visit Prince Charles home, there's no mention of Diana, anywhere..) Similarly some of Bristol's prosperity came from the slave trade

[steverh]

Re: In praise of Bristol

There's an Elephant in the room... (If you visit Prince Charles home, there's no mention of Diana, anywhere..) Similarly some of Bristol's prosperity came from the slave trade

Quite a bit actually Pete. Although we did pretty well out of tobacco, chocolate, wine and aircraft as well. The University was built on the profits from Wills' Woodbines!

[al_kaholik]

Re: In praise of Bristol

Do love a bit of Brizzol. My mum's side of the family is from down that way, always nice to be there in the sunshine.

I like the boy with the waterfall/box!

[DerekW]

Re: In praise of Bristol

Surely slave trade is just another aspect of commercial trade
It was acceptable then but not now.

[snaarman]

Re: In praise of Bristol

Surely slave trade is just another aspect of commercial trade - It was acceptable then but not now.

Oooh. I think I'm going to run away


.
.
.


History apart, Brizzle is pretty cosmopolitan and after midnight reminded me of Manhattan or London. So many drunk youngsters trying to find their way home... Sigh. I guess I'm getting old.

As to the Marriott. I say, what's happened to standards? The staff were unfailingly polite and efficient. The guests however... Down for Sunday breakfast in shorts and flip flops showing off their tatooed legs.

Oh dear. I am getting old.

[DerekW]

Re: In praise of Bristol

The main dining room at the Bristol Royal Marriott by the Cathedral /College Green is rather fine - like being in a Cathedral, the food is rather good as well.

Marriotts at weekends do tend to have a rather broadening of their clientele - reduced rates etc. Sadly you were there at a peak weekend I guess.

I have seen a breakfast food battle at an Atlanta Marriott (just on one table - family of four). However the waiter came along after the "guests" had left and cleaned up efficiently and quietly including the sausages on the floor under the table.


Back to nastiness in our ports of old - the way that the Navy obtained crew by press ganging was not much different to slavery however not in such great numbers as the other trade.

[snaarman]

Re: In praise of Bristol

One feature of the Royal Marriott room raised a smile. I blogged about it this morning.. http://snaarman.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/warning.html



Pete