Edition 37

A black and white photo of the River Avon with a steam boat listing to the left framed by the Clifton Suspension Bridge.

People's History

‘A disgraceful orgy of robbery’: when the Ettrick got stuck in the Avon

In 1924, a steamship ran aground near Sea Mills. When its cargo of cigarettes, chocolate and other desirable goods was thrown overboard, who could blame local people for helping themselves to the booty?

David Hewitt
David Hewitt

Reports

A man in a black hoodie and hat, seen in head-and-shoulders view, stands against a set of ornate railings

‘Being a man kills your feelings’: Moses McKenzie on masculinity, liberation and community

Priyanka Raval
Priyanka Raval

Features

A women sits at a desk. On the wall behind are various art works.

After the crowdfunder: how can cultural spaces not just survive, but thrive?

Alex Turner
Alex Turner
Olga and Maria at a recent Altered States event

Features

Vladimir, vapes and defending democracy: when the Cable met Pussy Riot in BS3

Celebrating the subversive, we spent an evening with the legendary Russian dissidents to get behind the balaclavas to discuss all things protest.

Priyanka Raval
Priyanka Raval
An illustration of various sizes of houses and towers with giant overdue and reminder letters sprouting between them

Reports

Council still hounding people with bailiffs after ‘ethical’ approach promise

Matty Edwards
Matty Edwards
A palestinian teacher in a headscarf standing outside.

Features

Education is the great liberator: the Bristol activists forging links with teachers in Palestine

Adam Quarshie
Adam Quarshie

Features

An Illustration with two sides, one side in the light of various different folks sitting and standing chatting outside the corner premise of BASE social centre, on the right side is a darken red lite van with a police officer wearing headphones arched over a laptop

Under surveillance: how a man was recalled to prison after visiting a Bristol anarchist social centre

Toby Shone’s arrest by counter-terrorism police surveilling the BASE centre in Easton shows the state’s escalating clampdown on political dissent.

Tom Anderson

Opinion

‘Bristol can lead the way in pushing for legalising cannabis’

Cannabis is now legally regulated in a growing number of countries around the world, but the UK is being left behind.

Steve Rolles
Steve Rolles

Features

A five-storey tower block, with a more modern section and car park in front of it

Leaseholders are calling for feudal system to be abolished, but what will Labour actually change?

Change is on the horizon for leaseholders in Bristol now that Labour is in power. But it can't come soon enough.

Matty Edwards
Matty Edwards

No to Section 60

Racist and traumatising: inside a Section 60 suspicionless stop and search operation

Officers searched innocent children, disproportionately targeted people of colour and undermined their anti-racism reforms during a 48-hour police operation in February. Their narrative that it was an effective knife-crime deterrent, done with consent, is misleading.

Sean Morrison
Sean Morrison

Opinion

An illustration of tower blocks that look old and battered, with tools laid out in front of them

‘Bristol’s council housing failings are shocking – but are just the tip of a massive national iceberg’

Decades of underinvestment in council homes by central government have led to unacceptable living standards for tenants, in our city and across the country. A national solution is needed.

Paul Smith
Paul Smith (Elim Housing Association)

Area in Focus

The car park kickabouts tackling anti-social behaviour in Hartcliffe

Football charity the Robins Foundation responded to reports of antisocial behaviour outside Hartcliffe’s Morrisons by organising football sessions in its car park. It’s led to a claimed 60% drop in complaints.

Michal Grant
Michal Grant