In his essay/book On Bullshit, Harry Frankfurt suggests that one of the reasons that there is so much bullshit around today is because of democracy. Spreading power and responsibility around encourages, or even makes it necessary, for people to hold opinions on things they know little about.

I feel like that about the Mayoral elections in Bristol, ( Read more... )

Last Saturday was St Pauls Carnival. Around 70-80,000 people visited the area, packing in to the streets and squares ( Read more... )

Next time I hear a helicopter hovering over early in the morning, do I go out and see what it's all about?

When I went down to my parents' on Thursday night, there were riots (linking to the independent only because it was front page news). A new tesco metro has opened up on Stokes Croft, and lots of people are unhappy about it. The police ( Read more... )

If you like crowds and loud noises you'll love St Pauls Carnival. If not... I dunno ( Read more... )

The rain came, after weeks of dry, though not all sunny, weather. In the damp, the cars coming up ashley road sometimes sound like the roaring of giant beasts ( Read more... )

Coming in to Bristol on the A38, from the north, you pass along Gloucester Road. Gloucester Road has been called one of Britain's last high streets. It's filled with independent shops - butchers, bakers, grocers, specialist food shops and more - pubs, restaurants and bars. Not that it doesn't also have chain-store representatives - tesco, ( Read more... )

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It's St Pauls Carnival today. Since ten, multiple soundsystems have been playing a clashing mix of dub, reggae and the odd other thing, mixed occasionally with a car alarm or ice cream van ( Read more... )

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This afternoon I set out to have a go at getting some new shoes and to have a proper look round the new Cabot Circus (which is, for those of you not following Bristol news, a shopping centre that opened here a couple of weeks ago ( Read more... )